Unexpected Turns Part 1: Recruitment
by AnimeFan555
Summary: What might happen if Suzaku and Kallen's conversation at the begining of Stage 21 went a little diferently? What would happen if Suzaku made a choice based on giving Nunally a better life? How does everyone react to seeing a certain knightmare explode..?
1. Author's Note

This story starts during Stage 21 of Code Geass season 1, "The School Festival Declaration". Please remember that I have made some changes to the the actual storyline of Code Geass. One of them is that Shirley never found out that Lelouch was Zero. Mao is still dead though. Just so you know, I also made it so that after Suzaku got back from Kyushu and he and Euphy had their little talk, they decided to secretly date because of the confessions they made during Kyushu, making sure that no one knew about it...especially not Princess Corneilia li Britannia. If Corneilia found out then Suzaku would be dead...literally. Also, when Lelouch puts on his Zero mask I will refer to him as Zero instead of Lelouch. If a person is on the phone, whatever the person they are talking to says will be in **Bold**. Here is an example:

Lelouch is talking to _Milly_ on the phone:

"Lelouch speaking." "**Lelouch! Where are you? The student council meeting starts in five minutes**!" "Sorry Milly. Im on my way right now." "**Good. Now hurry up before I go digging through your room to find some embaressing secret to spread around school**."


	2. Conversations and an Invitation

It's the Ashford Academy School Festival and both Britannians and Elevens are there to have fun. Meanwhile, Suzaku Kururugi is chopping onions at unnatural speeds for the giant pizza that the Ashford Student Council is making at the festival. Kallen Stadfeld, or Kallen Kouzuki as she prefers, walks up behind Suzaku and takes out her knife to assassinate him. "Thats a relief" ,Suzaku said without even looking at Kallen, she just stopped in her tracks,"I thought that you were never going to come back to school". "It's on purpose! Why didn't you tell anyone who I really am?" Kallen said, slightly confused. "Your Kallen Stadfeld right now aren't you? Not Kallen Kouzuki, right?" Suzaku says. "Were you trying to draw me in by being friendly?" Kallen asked almost completely confused. "On the battlefeild I won't show any mercy, but I want to try and persuade you here. I know this is against the rules but while we're at school, I'd rather try to change your mind here than defeat you in combat later", said Suzaku. "There's something different about you", Kallen said. "Hey Kallen?" said Suzaku. "Hmm..What is it?" asked Kallen. "I was wondering if you could set up a short meeting with Zero? I just wanted to thank him for helping me take back Kyushu and for saving my life by desrtroying those Chinese Fedaration Gun rus and giving me an Energy Filler for the Lancelot so I could continue to fight" said Suzaku, Kallen was confused," It's ok if its just over a communications line or even just the phone. He made it possible for me to come back to my friends, so I just wanted to thank him...even if we are enemies". Kallen wasn't sure what to say. Was it a trap or was Suzaku serious about actually thanking Zero. "I'll see what I can do Suzaku, but don't expect much", Kallen said as she walked out. The door opened again and Lelouch walked in. "Hey Suzaku. How are the onions coming along? We're going to need them soon", said Lelouch. "I'm almost done", said Suzaku as he was finishing cutting up the last few onoins, he suddenly stopped, "Hey Lelouch?" "Yeah Suzaku? What is it?" asked Lelouch. "Would it be weird to thank my worst enemy for saving my life and helping me?" asked Suzaku. "What do you mean?" Lelouch asked. "I'm not supposed to say this, but Zero showed up at Kyushu in a prototype knightmare called Gawain. He saved my life by destroying some gunroos that were surrounding me. He gave me a new Energy Filler for the Lancelot and helped me take back Kyushu" said Suzaku. "_I guess it's time to start lying_", thought Lelouch. "Zero was there? The news said that the Black Knights weren't involved. I didn't believe it but I didn't know for sure", lied Lelouch. "Thats because they covered it up so it wouldn't look like the military is weak. But Zero was there on his own and he offered to help me. We worked together like we had known each other for years. I don't know why, but it felt like I knew the person behind the mask", said Suzaku. "_This isn't good. He might be getting close to finding out that I'm Zero_", thought Lelouch. "I don't think it's weird. He saved your life. Even if you are enemies, thanking him is right thing to do. I've got to go check on some things down at the festival before Milly hunts me down or Shirley accuses me of gambling again. Don't forget to be at the stage in 30 minutes for the making of the giant pizza", Lelouch said before taking off down the hall.

The rest of the festival went on without a problem...execpt for the stage that the pizza was on collapsed under the weight of the pizza before they even put the toppings on. Suzaku was walking down the hall to his locker when he heard someone behind him. He turned around so fast that it was like he wasn't even facing the other way. He was surprised to see Princess Euphemia li Britannia wearing a disguise. "Wha-? Euphy? What are you doing here?" asked a very confused Suzaku. "I came to have some fun at the festival. Then I ran into Nunally", said Euphy. "Uhhh...so you found out that she and Lelouch are alive?" Suzaku asked already knowing the answer. "Yes Suzaku I do know. Before you say anything, I just want you to know that I understand why you didn't tell anyone about them being alive", said Euphy. "Thanks for understanding. We can go do something if you want to. I just have to get my stuff from my locker", said Suzaku as he opened his locker. "Sure. We could hang out here at festival. It would be hard for people like he media to recognize me in this disguise with so many people",said Euphy as something fell out of Suzaku's locker," Hey whats this?" she added as she picked it up. It was an envelope with Suzaku's name written on it. "I don't know. Lets open it and see", said Suzaku as he opened it. _**South Docks, Peir 5. Tonight. 8:00pm. Come alone and unarmed.**_ "I wonder who sent this?" Euphy asked. "I don't know...but Im going", said Suzaku. "What! Why?" asked Euphy. "I have to. It could be some kind of informant", said Suzaku. "_Could Kallen have gotten me that meeting with Zero?_"


	3. The Meeting

Black Knights HQ. 7:30pm

_Knock. Knock. _"Who is it?" says Lelouch as he picks up his Zero mask. "It's Kallen. I wanted to talk to you about Suzaku Kururugi", said Kallen through the door. "Come in", said Lelouch as he put on his mask just before Kallen walked in,"Now, whats this about Suzaku Kururugi?" Zero asked. "I saw him at school today and he asked me if he could thank you personally for helping him at Kyushu", said Kallen. "There is no need for you to pass on a time to him", said Zero. "Really? Why is that?" Kallen asked. "I have an informant in Ashford Academy. I had them leave a note in his locker to meet me somewhere tonight. Im going to ask him to join the Black Knights", said Zero. "What if he says that he won't join...and who is this informant of yours?" asked Kallen. "Im going to make him an offer he can't refuse. Now, I must get going", said Zero as he stood up and was about to walk out the door when he stopped,"Oh, and as my informant...I will give you a hint to who he is...V.P." With that, Zero left. "V.P...V.P...! Vice President! Lelouch!" Kallen almost screamed as a mental image of Lelouch in a Black Knights uniform standing next to Zero and C.C.,"This is bad! Well...at least I know where he goes when he disappears all the time. Maybe I should tell the other members of the student council."

South Docks, Peir 5 7:58pm

Suzaku Kururugi is standing outside the warehouse at peir 5 waiting for whoever he was supposed to meet. "I wonder who it is that Im supposed to meet", said Suzaku as his phone rang. "Suzaku Kururugi speaking." "**Its Kallen.**" "Hi Kallen. This isn't really a good time." "**Look Suzaku I'm sorry but there is something you should know.**" "What is it Kallen?" At that moment, Suzaku saw something that shocked him. "**Its about Lelouch...**" "Kallen...I think I'm looking at what you were about to tell me." "**What do you mean?**" "Lelouch is standing infront of me...in a Black Knights uniform. I've got to go Kallen." "**Wait Suzak-.**" Suzaku hung up and just stood there staring at Lelouch. "Surprised Suzaku?" asked Lelouch. "Actually...yes I am. Why Lelouch...why would you join the Black Knights?" asked Suzaku. "I was one of, or rather, was, the first member of the Black Knights", said Lelouch. "Wait...but that means that your...your...", Suzaku couldn't even finish his sentance. "Thats right Suzaku...I am...ZERO!" said Lelouch as smoke screen surrounded them. When it cleared Lelouch was standing there, dressed as Zero without the mask. "Well Suzaku...how does it feel to find out that your best friend for seven years is the very person you've been fighting against?" asked Lelouch as he put on the mask. "I'll admit that it does explain a lot. You never being around, finding you in the Shinjuku Ghetto the day I became the pilot of the Lancelot, those mysterious phone calls that you kept on getting at school, and how you and Kallen seemed to get a lot closer", said Suzaku. "Kallen doesn't know that I'm Zero. If she figured out the hint that I gave her then she just thinks that I'm one of Zero's informants. But now I'll get straight to the point Suzaku. I want you to join the Black Knights."


	4. The Offer and a Secret Revealed

"I want you to join the Black Knights", said Zero. "You've already asked me to join before...and telling me that your really my best friend behind that mask isn't going to change it", said Suzaku as he turned to walk away. "What about Nunally?" said Zero which made Suzaku stop in his tracks. "What do mean?" asked Suzaku. "The Black Knights technical expert, Rakshata, has been experimenting with cybernetic armor. It's like a knightmare that is only a suit of armor. Despite it's size, it takes a lot of energy to power an entire suit. I was going to get Rakshata to make only the leg portion of the armor, which requires little to no power to use, so that Nunally can walk again. Im asking you to join the Black Knights because Nunally will know that I'm Zero and I need someone to look after her incase anything happens to me", said Zero. "Nunally...she'll be able to walk again...but what about her sight? She can't walk if she can't see", said Suzaku, who was starting to rethink his decision to not join the Black Knights. "I thought of that too. I came up with an idea on how to get Nunally to open her eyes", said Zero as he took off his mask, becoming Lelouch Lamperouge once again. "Open her eyes? I thought she was completely blind and just kept her eyes closed becuase it hurt every time she opened them or something", said Suzaku. "Thats not it Suzaku. When our mother was killed, Nunally saw it happen right infront of her when she was eight years old. The shock was enough to force her to close her eyes. Something in her mind is preventing her from opening her eyes. It's most likely that she, sub-conciously, is too afraid to see someone she cares about get hurt or killed again. Thats why she keeps her eyes closed. The doctors diagnosed her as blind when she couldn't open her eyes", said Lelouch, Suzaku just stood there realizing that Lelouch was probably right, "I came up with a plan to get her to open her eyes, but I need you to join the Black Knights for it to work", said Lelouch. "Ok...lets hear this plan of yours", said Suzaku. "I'll explain it to you inside. Follow me", said Lelouch as he walked towards the warehouse with Suzaku following him.

Ashford Academy, 8:30pm

The Ashford student council was finishing up some paperwork when Kallen suddenly burst through the door, looking like she just ran all the way across town...which she did. "Whoa...Kallen are you ok? You shouldn't be running so much", said Rivalz. "I'll...remember...that...", said Kallen, trying to catch her breath. "What happened? You look like you just ran across town at top speed to get here", said Shirley. "Thats because...I did...I was down...at the...docks...and I saw...something that you...won't beleive", said Kallen, starting to catch her breath. "What was it?" asked Rivalz. "Just promise me that you won't tell anyone about this...that goes triple for you Milly. You especially can't tell Nunally", said Kallen, going into her serious Black Knights tone. "What is it? What did you see? Why can't we tell Nunally..or anyone for that matter?" asked Milly. "I saw Lelouch...and he...he...he was...wearing a Black Knights uniform", said Kallen. There was an awkward silence until Rivalz finally yelled,"WHAT? Lelouch was wearing a Black Knights uniform?" "Why would he be a Black Knight? It couldn't have been Lelouch", said Shirley, looking like she was about to cry. "Thats not all. Suzaku was there too. Lelouch asked him to join the Black Knights...but thats not all", said Kallen, which made everyone look at her,"Lelouch is...he's..." "What was that Kallen? You said that too quiet for us to hear", said Milly. "I said Zero...Lelouch is Zero",said Kallen. Everyone just stared at her in disbelief. "Why...? Why would Lelouch do something like this?" asked Nina, who everyone hadn't really noticed since she just sat at the computer in silence. "I don't know...since Zero is Lelouch, maybe what Zero said on those broadcasts is true", said Rivalz, hoping to defend his friend incase Lelouch was being accused of something. "I don't know...but we can't let Lelouch know that we know that he's Zero", said Milly, "Don't forget, we cannot, under any circumstances, let Nunally know about this. Got it!" "Got it", everyone said. What they didn't know was that someone was listening the whole time.


	5. The Plan

South Docks, Peir 5 Warehouse 8:10pm

"Ok Lelouch. Whats this plan of yours?" Suzaku asked. "My plan is simple. The Black Knights will challenge the Britannian military to a battle in the area to the West of the Tokyo Settlement. You'll chase the Guren into a nearby cave indicated on this map", said Lelouch as he took out a map and pointed out the location of the cave, "Once your in there we'll use a remote control decoy Lancelot. We'll take the IFF out of the Lancelot and put it in the decoy, as well as route the communication signals through the decoy. The decoy will be destroyed by the Gawain giving the illusion that you died." "Wait, how will that get Nunally to open her eyes?" asked Suzaku. "It's simple. The Black Knights will challenge Britannia over a worldwide broadcast. Demanding that you, Corneilia, and the Glaston Knights are there. Before you ask why Corneilia and the Glaston Knights will be requested to be there, it's because if we only asked for you, it would sound suspicious. We'll make sure that your with Nunally when the challenge goes out. Before we destroy the decoy, contact Nunally to tell her that you might not see her again. Knowing how much she thinks of you as another brother, she'll want to see you one last time", explained Lelouch. "I get it. If she opens her eyes, she won't be afraid to open them anymore", said Suzaku. "Not only that, but you will have to get injured enough to look like you were unconcious in a battlefield and hiked back to the city. You should show up a week after this takes place. Infront of Ashford Academy should work. Just give me a signal when your going to show up and I'll be outside with Nunally. Make sure she see's you first. If I see you first, I'll just act like I didn't see you. Not only that, but by then she'll have the cybernetic leg armor...minus the armor part, it will just be metal, plastic, and probably some fabric...I don't know. I'll let Rakshata handle that. So...are you in?" asked Lelouch as he held out his hand. "Yeah I'm in", said Suzaku as he shook Lelouch's hand, "What will happen to the Lancelot, and the military?" "You can still use the Lancelot in the Black Knights...after we make a few...modifications", said Lelouch smiling, "As for the military, tell them that your leaving because a near-death experience was just too much for you."

Outside the Warehouse 8:15pm

"Are you sure this is the place?" someone asked. "Yes Ohgi, I'm sure. Zero snuck off to do something just before Kallen left his room in our mobile hideout. She looked shocked about something. I want to find out whats up", said Tamaki. "Then why am I here?" Ohgi asked. "If Zero or Kallen catch us, they'll go easier on me if your there too", said Tamaki. "You actually thought this out...impressive. Thats a first", Ohgi said trying not to laugh. "Hey! When we're done here I'm gonna- hey what was that?" said Tamaki as they heard voices. "It sounds like Zero. Its coming from this warehouse. Lets climb up on those boxes to see through that window", said Ohgi. Tamaki and Ohgi climbed onto the boxes to see Zero facing the other way with his mask off talking to someone. They were shocked at who they saw...Suzaku Kururugi, pilot of the Lancelot and the Black Knight's greatest opponent. "What is Zero doing with Kururugi?" Tamaki asked. "How should I know. But they must know each other pretty well for Zero to not wear his mask", said Ohgi as Zero turned around and held hid hand out to Suzaku. Tamaki and Ohgi saw Zero's face and were surprised to see a seventeen year old kid. "Wha- Zero is just a kid?" said a confused Tamaki. "Wait...I've seen him before...he was at the festival at Kallen's school. That kid is on the student council there, Vice President I think", said Ohgi, remembering what happened at the festival in the storage room, "According to Kallen, he has a fourteen year old sister who is blind and she is unable to use her legs." "Really? Maybe she's one of the reasons that he's doing this. To make a more peaceful place for her", said Tamaki. "You might be right. They're leaving! Quick run!" said Ohgi as he and Tamaki jumped off the boxes and ran back to the HQ.


	6. The Accusation

The next day...

Ashford Academy 3:30pm

Lelouch and Suzaku were walking to the clubhouse for the student council meeting. Their friends had been acting weird lately...more than usual, even Nunally had been acting weird. "What do you think is up with everyone today?" Lelouch asked. "I don't know. Maybe something happened at the meeting yesterday that we missed", said Suzaku, "By the way. Did you talk to Rakshata about the cybernetics for Nunally?" "I told her that I was interested in the armor. I'm meeting with her later", Lelouch said. "I can't wait until Nunally is able to see and walk again", said Suzaku loud enough for only Lelouch to hear. "I know how how you feel", said Lelouch as they walked into clubhouse. "Well this is a surprise! You two are actually on time", said a voice that could belong to only one person. "Very funny Milly. Now what's this meeting about?" asked Lelouch. "It's about a certain member of the student council and the Black Knights", said Shirley from the door. "What do the Black Knights have to do with a member of the student council?" Suzaku asked. "_This isn't good. They might have found out that Kallen is a Black Knight_", thought Lelouch. "So who is it? Also, how do you know?" Lelouch asked. "Kallen came bursting in here last night saying that she saw you at the docks in a Black Knights uniform! Lelouch, we all know that your Zero", Shirley said almost screaming. "_Damn it_", Lelouch and Suzaku both thought. "How could I be Zero? Im seventeen, I go to school, I have to take care of my little sister with the only help from my friends and Sayako. I barely have free time to hang out with you guys, let alone lead an entire organization against Britannia. Besides, why would Kallen be at the docks so late at night, did you think of that?" said Lelouch. "I guess your right. Sorry for accusing you of being Zero, and a Black Knaght for that matter", said Milly. "Its ok. It was probably dark where Zero was, people look different in the dark", said Lelouch. "_That was close_", thought Suzaku.

Black Knights HQ, East Corridor 6:45pm

"You wanted to talk to me about the armor Zero?" Rakshata asked as she walked up to him in the hall. "Yes Rakshata. But first I need to know that I can trust you with my identity", said Zero. "Why is that?" Rakshata asked. "I need the armor for something outside of the Black Knights", said Zero as the part of his mask that allowed him to use his Geass opened, "You won't tell anyone who I am no matter what", he added as his Geass activated. "Yes Zero. You don't have to worry", said Rakshata after the Geass took affect. "Good. Now, nobody knows this, but I have a little sister who is blind and who's legs haven't worked since they were shot when she was eight. I need the leg portion of the armor so she can walk again. They need to be just enough for her to be able to do what normal people her age can do...not for combat. She has no idea of my involvement with Black Knights. Can you do it?" asked Zero. "It won't be too hard. I'll need to meet her first so I can make the armor the right size for her. Since it's not for combat, I'm guessing that you only want the cybernetics. Also, how will she walk if she's blind?" said Rakshata. "The cybernetics will be fine. Just make sure that its not only the cybernetics. It will have to be enough for her to walk. The cybernetic will also have to be covered by something. Make it only slightly armored with lightweight metals and something between the armor and skin so the temperatures won't effect her. As for her being blind, I have a friend of mine who can help with that. Just wait until we get her to see again before you start building the cybernetics", said Zero as he turned to walk away, "Now if you'll exuse me. I have something to do."


	7. A Challenge and Accidental Eavesdropping

Ashford Academy, Student Council Clubhouse 7:00pm

Suzaku was in the clubhouse with Milly, Rivalz, Nina, Shirley, and Nunally. They were watching TV when Suzaku's phone rang. "Hello?" "**Suzaku? It's Lelouch.**" "Whats up?" "**Are with Nunally?**" "Yeah." "**Is there a TV nearby?**" "We're all watching TV right now. Why?" "**Then it's time to put our plan into action.**" "Wait! Lelouch! He hung up. I wonder why", said Suzaku as he put away his phone. Hey! Whats wrong with the TV?" said Milly as she kicked the TV and the image of Zero appeared on the screen. "THIS, IS ZERO", said Zero through the TV over a worldwide broadcast, "WE THE BLACK KNIGHTS CHALLENGE THE BRITANNIAN MILITARY FORCES IN THE DESERTED AREA WEST OF THE TOKYO SETTLEMENT IN A WEEKS TIME AT 4:00PM. WE DEMAND THAT PRINCESS CORNEILIA LI BRITANNIA, THE GLASTON KNIGHTS, AND SUZAKU KURURUGI BE THERE FOR THIS BATTLE!" Everyone looked at Suzaku. "Looks like I'm fighting Zero and the Black Knights", he said. "Suzaku? Don't you think it's strange that they would single you out even though they know that you'll be there?" said Rivalz. "They probably wanted to make sure that I'm there. I'm the one who keeps getting in their way. They probably want to try and get me out of the way...I'm going", said Suzaku. "What? Suzaku you can't go. All of the Black Knights will be there. Even you won't be able to get out of there in one piece", said Nunally. "I have no choice. Who knows what the Black Knights will do if their demands aren't met", said Suzaku as Lelouch suddenly burst through the door. "I...just saw...the broadcast...you can't...oh god...I've never run...so fast...for so long...in my life...", said Lelouch trying to catch his breath, looking like he was ready to pass out. "Are alright Lelouch?" asked Nina. "Yeah...I'm fine. Suzaku, you can't go through with this", said Lelouch, looking better than he did when he got there. "I have to. Zero will be on the battlefield...it might be my only chance to put an end to him", said Suzaku as he headed to the door, "I should go get some extra training in before the battle." "I have to head that way. One of my opponents from when I gambled hunted me down and challenged me to a rematch. Rivalz, can we borrow you motorcycle. I can give Suzaku a ride there", said Lelouch. "Sure Lelouch. Just bring it back in one piece ok", said Rivalz as he tossed the keys to Lelouch. "Thanks buddy. Lets go Suzaku", said Lelouch as he and Suzaku walked out the door. "Lelouch? How did you do that broadcast and then run through the door right after it ended?" Suzaku asked. "It was pre-recorded. I sent a signal to the Black Knights to start broadcasting. It helped get rid of the student council's sucpicions of me being Zero", said Lelouch. "That was a good excuse...saying you had a rematch so we could go to the meeting", said Suzaku. "I know. We need to inform the Black Knights of our plan for the battle. Soon Nunally will be able to see and walk again", said Lelouch as they walked over to Rivalz's motor bike, "The Black Knights will also have a new ace pilot." "Lets go", said Suzaku as he got in the side car.

Student Council Clubhouse, 7:10pm

Lelouch and Suzaku had just left the room. "Whats this?" asked Nina as she picked something up. "Isn't that Lelouch's phone?" asked Shirley. "Yeah it is. Why don't you run it down to him Shirley. I don't think they left yet", said Rivalz. "Ok. I'll be back", said Shirley as she ran out the door of the Student Council room. She was running down the hall when she heard Lelouch and Suzaku talking. "Lelouch? How did you do that broadcast and then run through the door right after it ended?" she heard Suzaku say. "_Broadcast? He can't mean Zero's...can he?_" Shirley thought. "It was pre-recorded. I sent a signal to the Black Knights to start broadcasting. It helped get rid of the student council's sucpicions of me being Zero", Lelouch said. "_Lelouch...is a Black Knight! Thats impossible_!" Shirley thought. "That was a good excuse...saying you had a rematch so we could go to the meeting", said Suzaku. "_Meeting? What meeting?_" Shirley thought. "I know. We need to inform the Black Knights of our plan for the battle. Soon Nunally will be able to see and walk again", said Lelouch. "_Nunally will be able see and walk again? How?_" thought Shirley. "The Black Knights will also have a new ace pilot", Shirley heard Lelouch add. "_A new ace pilot? Does he mean Suzaku?_" Shirley shuddered at the thought, _"Who ever the pilot of that red Knightmare is...they're as strong as Suzaku...with Suzaku in the Black Knights...they'll be unstoppable_." "Lets go", she heard Suzaku say as they left. "This is bad. Lelouch is a Black Knight...and Suzaku is going to be one of them...and how does Nunally come into this?" Shirley said quietly. She didn't realize that she had accidentally called Milly due to an accidental speed dial.

Student Council Clubhouse, 7:15pm

Milly had just hung up her phone after hearing everything that Lelouch and Suzaku said. Everyone else in the room heard it too, because Milly dropped her phone when she answered it, causing it to go on speaker phone. "So Kallen was right...Lelouch is a Black Knight", Rivalz said. "Not only that...but Suzaku is going to become one. They also have something planned for the battle that Zero challenged the military to", said Milly. "Wait! How will they get Suzaku in the Black Knights?" Rivalz asked. "What do you mean?" asked Nina. "One, Suzaku's in the Britannain military. Two, he won't be able to come to school anymore because he'll probably still use the Lancelot so they'll be able to figure out that he's a Black Knight", explained Rivalz. "He's right. According to Lloyd Asplund the Lancelot is one-of-a-kind. There are similar ones that the military is planning for the Knights of the Round, but other than that, its a one-of-a-kind", Milly explained. "Yeah. The only Knightmares that even messure up to the Lancelot are that red Knightmare from the Black Knights and those ones that Kyoshirou Toudou and the Four Holy Swords use. What are they called? Gekkas?" said Rivals. "I think so. Anyway, what do we do? We just found out that one of our best friends is a Black Knight and that another one is becoming one", said Milly. "The way they were talking, it sounds like Lelouch is ranked high up there. He could be one of the commanders for all we know", said Rivalz, trying to focus on the paperwork. "Who knows. They'll probably broadcast the battle. Lelouch is good at stradegies. So he'll probably be mapping out formations and battle positions", Milly said. "He could also be on the battlefield", said Rivalz, everyone looked at him, "What? You guys have seen him pilot the Ganymede at school events. He's a great pilot", said Rivalz. "You wouldn't be so surprised if you knew who his mother was", said Milly, not even realizing she said it out loud. "What do mean? You knew his and Nunally's mother?" asked Nina. "I've known Lelouch and Nunally since we were little kids. Lelouch has changed a lot...especially in these past few months", said Milly. "So...who was she?" asked Shirley, who had been just outside the door for most of the conversation. "Well...I'm not supposed to say anything...but...as long as you promise that you won't tell anyone and you won't treat them differently...ok?", said Milly. Everyone just nodded in agreement. They had all wondered about Lelouch and Nunally's past. "Ok...their mother is...or rather was...Marianne vi Britannia",said Milly.


	8. The Truth and A Black Knight Meeting

Student Council Clubhouse, 7:20pm

"Ok...their mother is...or rather was...Marianne vi Britannia",said Milly. There was complete silence except for Rivalz falling on the floor after almost passing out from surprise. "Marianne Vi Britannia! You mean the emperess that was assassinated in her own house seven years ago?" asked Rivalz, "But...that makes Lelouch a prince and Nunally a princess!" "I thought Empress Marianne's children were killed during the invasion of Area 11?" said Nina. "It was still Japan back then. Thats how Lelouch knows Suzaku. He and Nunally were exiled and sent to live at the Kururugi Shrine as political tools. They became friends with Suzaku, but they got separated when Lelouch and Nunally were brought to live with my family after the war. We weren't supposed to tell anyone that they were still alive. So they changed their last name to Lamperouge and lived as normal people. The only thing they had to do was stay away from the eyes of the royal family and away from the media", explained Milly. "So let me get this straight. Lelouch and Nunally Lamperouge, are actually Lelouch and Nunally Vi Britannia, the thought-to-be-dead children of Emperess Marianne?" asked Rivalz. "Thats right", said Milly. "Hold on! If Lelouch is a Britannian prince, then why is he trying to destroy Britannia as a Black Knight?" asked Rivalz. "Maybe it's Zero's plan", said Nina. "What do you mean Nina?" asked Milly confused. "A new emperor can only be crowned when the emperor is dead. Then the Emperor's children either decide who becomes emperor, the eldest son or daughter becomes emperor or emperess, or they just fight it out. They would probably use knightmares now. Anyway, if the emperor is killed and his children are either dead or don't want the throne, Leouch could step in, 'rise from the dead' and become emperor. If he's a Black Knight, then Zero will have control over Britannia", Nina explained. "Now that you mention it, that could be what he's planning...I just hope that it doesn't happen", said Shirley, who had remained silent after hearing who Lelouch really was. "Same here Shirley...same here", said Milly in a sad voice.

Black Knights HQ, 7:30pm

"I wonder why Zero called this emergency meeting", said Tamaki as he walked down the hall towards the room that they used to map out stradegies with Ohgi and Kallen. "It's probably to start stradegizing", said Kallen. "Im not so sure. I think it might have something to do with Suzaku", said Ohgi. "What makes you say that?" Tamaki asked. "Don't you remember? We saw Suzaku and Zero talking in that warehouse. They acted like friends. Zero even took off his mask", reminded Ohgi. "Oh ya. You might be right", said Tamaki as the entered the room to see Zero standing on the small stage-like platform with C.C. standing next to him. "It looks like everyone is here", said C.C. in her usual mono tone voice. "I have called this meeting to breif you on the stradegy that we are going use against Britannia. But first I would like you to meet the newest pilot of the Black Knights", said Zero as he made a hand gesture, signaling someone to come onto the platform. There gasps and wispers from the crowd when they saw Suzaku Kururugi standing next to Zero. "Is this some kind of joke!" said Tamaki. "No it isn't Tamaki. Does getting the Lancelot and the only person who can pilot it on our side sound like a joke to you?" said Zero. There more wispers in the crowd. Most of them sounded like"_Is he serious?_"or "_With the Lancelot we'll win this war in no time_". "So how will we get the knight of Princess Euphemia on our side with the Lancelot without getting killed the moment we even touch it becuase we were trespassing", asked Tamaki. "That is simple. As long as everyone follows the plan. Please turn your attention to the screen", said Zero as he explained the plan.


	9. Britannian Preparations and a New Squad

Britannian Military Base, 1 week later, 3:20pm

Cornelia and her knight Guilford were doing the final preparations for the battle that was only forty minutes away. "Guilford. Take a few men and check the energy fillers on the knightmares. If any are below 98% power I want them charged to 100%. If there are no more places to charge them then replace them with a fully charged one. Zero won't get away this time", said Cornelia. "Yes my princess", said Guilford as he bowed before leaving. Cornelia looked towards the sky and saw the giant airship that belonged to her brother ,Schneizel el Britannia, second prince of the Holy Britannian Empire as well as prime minister of Britannia, second only to the Emperor himself. "The Avalon...its about time that he got here", said Cornelia as the Avalon was preparing to land. Cornelia went down to the courtyard where the Avalon had landed. "Hello dear sister", said Schneizel as he walked down the ramp towards the ground, "I would have been here sooner but I had to make a quick stop before coming here." "What kind of stop?" said Cornelia suspiciously. "Cornelia, may I present the military's newest special forces team...The White Knights", said Schneizel as a squad of six knightmares came down the ramp of the Avalon, got into a line, and stood to attention, "Cornelia, meet Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Omega. They are the ultimate anti-Black Knights team." "Is it just me or do they remind you of the Lancelot?" said Cornelia as she looked at the six knightmares that were the same colors as the Lancelot except for there being red instead of gold. "Thats because the Lancelot was the inspiration for this team", said Schneizel as he motioned toward The White Knights and then to the Lancelot which was being unloaded from the Camelot team's truck, "Being the origonal white knight and all. The Lancelot will also be the leader of this team." Cornelia looked over towards the Camelot team's truck and noticed that there was another knightmare in another truck next to it. "What's that knightmare?" Cornelia asked curiously. "I would like you to meet the newest seventh-generation knightmare frame...The Merlin. It will be my personal knightmare after it is feild-tested in this battle", explained Schneizel. "Who will be the new pilot of the Lancelot be for the White Knights?" Corelia asked curiously. "New pilot? I intend to keep Sir Kururugi as the pilot of the Lancelot", said Schneizel. "What? Are you crazy Schneizel? We can't have a number leading-" Schneizel cut off Cornelia. "I personally made sure that only the best pilots that don't have, or show, any discrimination towards numbers, more specifically Elevens, were put onto this team. Before you say anything...this will also help with some negotiations if needed", explained Schneizel. "Ok fine. Sir Kururugi can be their commander as long both he and the team agree", said Cornelia. "Agreed. Now where is Sir Kururugi?" asked Schneizel. "He is on his way with Euphimia right now. They should be here any minute. Now...perhaps its best you explain to me what kind of knighmares these are. I've never seen this model before", said Cornelia. "These are custom knightmares. They have yet to have a model name, and they could possibly end up becoming mass-production models. They are almost as agile as the Lancelot. We used the prototype 'skeleton' from the original blueprints of the Lancelot. These are basically the Lancelot without as much agility, speed, and power. This is also a customized combination of Sutherland and Glouster armor. Basically these are combinations of a Sutherland, Glouster, and the Lancelot", exlained Schneizel. "Why a Sutherland and Glouster?" asked Cornelia curiously. "The Sutherland for its strong, layered armor and the glouster for its ability to use hand-to-hand combat weapons such as the MVS and the spears that you and your royal guard use", Schneizel explained as Suzaku and Princess Euphimia walked towards them, "Hello Euphy. Hello Sir Kururugi." "Greetings Prince Schneizel. It is good to see you again", greeted Suzaku as he bowed. "Likewise. Now lets get down to bussiness Sir Kururugi. I would you to meet your new team", said Schneizel, motioning to The White Knights. "My new team?" asked Suzaku as he looked at The White Knights, "They look similar to the Lancelot in color and structure, but not armor. Who's the commander?" "There is a reason I said 'your team' Sir Kururugi", said Schneizel. "Wait...Im the commander?" asked a shocked Suzaku. "Yes you are. The Lancelot is the origonal white knight. Plus these were made from the origonal blueprints from when they had just started designing the Lancelot. We can tell you more on the way to the battle", said Schneizel, "Everybody prepare to move out!" After he said that soldiers and knightmares loaded onto the Avalon. Spare energy fillers were brought onto the ship if needed. "Euphy? May I speak with you privately for a moment?" asked Schneizel. "Of course brother", said Euphimia as she walked towards his office on the Avalon, "What is this about?" she added as they entered his office. "I know about you and Sir Kururugi", said Schneizel trying to hide his smile. "What are talking about", asked Euphimia nervously. "I know about the two of you secretly dating", said Schneizel, it was getting harder for him to fake a serious face to hide his smile. "I don't know what your-" she was cut off by the sound of Schneizel silently laughing, "Whats so funny?" "Do you know how hard it was for me to fake that serious face Euphy. I don't care if your with Kururugi. It isn't the first time that a princess and her knight had feelings for each other. Just look at Cornelia and Guilford", said Schneizel, still trying to hold back laughter even though there was no point, "Don't worry I won't tell anyone. Especially Cornelia or our father. But...if Kururugi does _anything_, you know what I mean by anything, or hurts you...I will personally kill him with my bare hands", Schneizel said the last sentence with a tone that almost scared Euphimia. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen. Besides, if anything does happen, Cornelia would kill Suzaku before you could", said Euphimia. "You're probably right", said Schneizel smiling, "You can go now." "I have one question Schneizel", said Euphimia. "Yes Euphy? What is it?" asked Schneizel. "How did you know?" Euphimia asked curiously. "When you asked to use that private communications channel during Kyuushu I had a feeling it was to contact Sir Kururugi. I was walking past your room on my way to my office when I heard what you and Kururugi said. By putting that together with how you two have been acting lately and it was easy to figure out", said Schneizel. "I should think about getting my room sound proofed so that no one can eavesdrop on me again", said Euphimia as she left Schneizel's office. What nobody knew was that Suzaku had just sent out a secret transmission to the Black Knights to warn them about the White Knights.


	10. Black Knight Preparations

Black Knights HQ, 3:20pm

The Black Knights were doing the final checks on the Guren Mk II, the Gekkas, and their Burais. Everyone could tell that even Zero was stressed about it, especially since this battle would give them a big advantage if they won. If they won, there would be no more Cornelia, no more Glaston Knights, and they would have the Lancelot and Suzaku. They would have Suzaku and the Lancelot regardless...as long as things went according to plan. Ohgi was helping Tohdoh do some final adjustments on Tohdoh's custom Gekka. "So...I hear that you knew Suzaku when he was a kid", said Ohgi, breaking the silence. "Yes I knew him. Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi asked me to teach Suzaku how to defend himself. He caught onto how to do a spinkick quite quickly...some military officers started calling him 'Spinzaku'. I thought it was just childish. He didn't have any friends growing up. Thats why the Prime Minister wanted me to teach him how to defend himself, so that he could go into the military and rise in the ranks to keep honor within the Kururugi family", explained Tohdoh as he continued working while thinking back to before the war. "He didn't have any friends? That must have been pretty boring for him. I heard that his mother ran away too. Sounds like a retty rough childhood", said Ohgi. "She didn't run away. That was just a cover up. Not even Suzaku knows this and no one else should, I promised to carry this secret to my grave, which I have, the Tohdoh from seven years ago is gone, now im just one of the surviving members of the JLF, so theres no harm in telling this secret now, but you can't tell this to anyone", said Tohdoh. "Alright. What is it?" asked Ohgi. "Suzaku's mother didn't run away, she went to Britannia and told them about the large Sakuradite deposits which set the stage for the war. We found out where she went when she showed up with some Britannians who wanted all the Sakuradite mining rights. She was blamed for treason and was sent away from Japan. We later learned that the Britannians killed her when she was of no more use to them. Suzaku never learned what happened to her. He was never told that she returned. The last that heard of her was that she ran away to somewhere", explained Tohdoh. "Whoa...So Suzaku's mother sparked the war-" Ohgi was cut off by Tohdoh. "And the Prime Minister just unintentially fanned the flames by denying Britannia the mining rights", said Tohdoh, "Suzaku did eventually get friends. But it didn't last long". "What do you mean 'didn't last long'?" asked Ohgi. "The Britannians sent over two people as political tools. Lelouch and Nunally Vi Britannia, children of the deceased Marianne Vi Britannia. Suzaku befriended them, despite the princess being eight years old, blind, and having no use of her legs, and the prince being dark, unathletic, and a genius chess player and stradegist. When Britannia declared war on Japan, the Prime Minister tried to force Suzaku and the princess to marry so they could try to stop the war. He was willing to go far as to eliminate the prince. I managed to stop him in time before he caused too much harm to the prince. Afterwards I convinced him that harming a prince was no way to end a war. After that, Suzaku, Prince Lelouch, and Princess Nunally escaped, only to see the Britannian forces above Mt. Fuji. Suzaku survived, but prince was killed trying to save his sister. In the end they both died, their bodies were never found", explained Tohdoh. "I can't beleive Suzaku went throught so much at the young age of ten. Wait...you said that Prince Lelouch was a genius chess player and stadegist right?" asked Ohgi. "Yes...whats your point?" asked Tohdoh. "That sounds a lot like Zero. He's a brilliant stradegist which he has more than proven to us. I've also noticed that he sets things up like a chess game. He takes a map, divides it up into square sectors, calls eack one like its a square on a chess board, and makes references to chess. Like calling Kallen the Black Queen, calling us the Black Knights, Suzaku the White Knight, him earning the name the Black King, and saying checkmate when we are or are close to winning a battle. Do you think that Zero and the prince are the same person?" asked Ohgi. "Prince Lelouch was only ten at the time, and Zero sounds like he's more around the age of most of us. But if the prince had been older, I wouldn't completely doubt it" said Tohdoh as he Ohgi finish working on the custom Gekka, "Before you ask why I told you about this, its because here, your my superior...Zero's second in command". "To be honest, I think there's someone higher up than me but stil below Zero besides C.C." said Ohgi. "Really who do you think it could be?" asked Tohdoh. "With Zero it could be anybody. It could be the emperor for all we know", said Ohgi. Tohdoh knew that Ohgi was joking about it possibly being the emperor, but he was right...it could be anyone. "Ohgi! Tohdoh!" said a voice. They turned around to see Asahina Shōgo running towards them. "Whats going on Asahina?" asked Ohgi. "We just got a transmission from Suzaku. It said that Prince Schneizel put together a special anti-Black Knights squad called The White Knights and the Lancelot is the commander of the squad, and they're all compatable with float units. He said that the engineers are were attaching the float units as he was sending the transmission. Also, Britannia is sending out a new prototype seventh-generation knightmare called the Merlin, it's going to be feild-tested in the battle by Prince Schneizel, if it's successful, it will become his personal knightmare, like Kallen with the Guren, Suzaku with the Lancelot, and Zero with the Gawain", said Asahina without breathing the whole time, "We also got a transmission from Zero after he left to check on some things. He said that something came up and that he's sending his right-hand-man to take command while he tends to his business". "It looks like you're right Ohgi. There someone higher up than you but lower than Zero besides his mistress C.C.. Asahina did he say what their name was?" asked Tohdoh. "No he didn't, but he said that we were to return to the mobile HQ to meet up with him. He also said that you kow him", Asahina explained, the last part directed at Tohdoh. "Now even I'm curious about who this is. Lets finsh up and meet at the mobile headquaters. Asahina, find Kallen and rest of the senior commanders. Tell them to let everyone know that we will meet up them just outside the battlefield", said Tohdoh. "Yes sir!" Asahins saluted, bowed, and left to find everyone.

Black Knights Mobile HQ, 3:35pm

Tohdoh, Ohgi, Kallen, Tamaki, and the other original Black Knight members walked inside their mobile HQ. It was pitch-black inside except for the light coming from the outside due to the open door. There were no sounds except for the sound of the door closing on it's own. "I can't see a thing. Wheres the light switch?" said Tamaki feeling around for the light switch. "AHH! Tamaki! Thats not the light switch!" screamed Kallen as she wrapped her arms around her upper body. "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! It was an accident!" cried Tamaki because he knew that Kallen was more than capable of killing him. "Im just going stand behind someone so that doesn't happen again", said Kallen as she stood behind Ohgi. "I found it", said Tohdoh before the lights came on. "If you want see what happened in the dark, the security cameras have night vision" said a voice. They all spun around and saw someone standing with their back to them looking at personel files for the Black Knights. He was wearing a Black Knights uniform and had black hair. Kallen almost passed out when he turned around. Standing before them wasn't a military commander or even someone Japanese for that matter like they had expected. Instead, was a Britannian who looked no older than seventeen. Ohgi and Tamaki recognized him from the warehouse, they didn't say anything because he shot them a glare that looked like it could kill a person or even destroy a knightmare. Tohdoh was just standing there in shock at seeing Lelouch Vi Britannia, Eleventh prince of the Holy Britannian Empire, alive, and wearing a Black Knights uniform. "I am Lelouch Lamperouge your commander while Zero tends to business", said Lelouch. Tohdoh was confused about why he had the last name Lamperouge, but Lelouch gave him a look that said to play along with the different name. There was complete silence until Kallen spoke. "What the-! Why the-! How the-!" Kallen stuttered. "Breath Kallen", said Lelouch like it was no big deal. "Your Zero's 'right-hand-man'! You're only seventeen, you go to school, you take care of you blind little sister who isn't able to walk, and you barely have any free time anyway! How are you Zero's 'right-hand-man'?" Kallen finally got out. "Im more Zero's second in command, but right-hand-man works too", said Lelouch. "Zero said that you were an informant", said Kallen. "While I'm at Ashford Academy I am. I am to make sure that your identity as Kallen Kozuki remains safe and to keep an eye on Suzaku. Besides, if it weren't for C.C. and I...Zero would be dead", said Lelouch. "What do you mean?" asked Ohgi. "The Shinjuku Ghetto. I was there, so were C.C., Zero...and Suzaku. I ended up in the truck that your friend was driving Kallen. I saw you get in the Glasgow. In Shinnjuku, the poison gas capsule malfunctioned and opened. It wasn't gas...it was C.C., Suzaku and I found her by mistake. C.C. and I got separated from Suzaku and thats when I ran into someone who I thought was dead, it was my long lost brother, who you all know as Zero. Our sister won't remember him, she too young when he disappeared", exlained Lelouch. "Zero is your brother!" said a freaked out Tamaki, "Older or younger?" "We're about the same age. Before you ask how we're 'about' the same age. It's because our father...well...how can I put this...'got around' a lot", lied Lelouch. "Sounds like you on a larger scale Lelouch", said Kallen. "A much larger scale actually. Thats not the point. Zero and I came up with the stradegy, so if any of you have any questions about it ask now", said Lelouch, "No? In that case, get to the trucks and lets get going. C.C. and I will follow behind in the Gawain. Lets move people." With that everyone exited the mobile HQ and headed to the trucks while Lelouch met up with C.C. at the Gawain. "Did they buy it?" asked C.C. as she was eating a mini pizza. "Yes they did. Now hurry up and eat that, we have to go", said Lelouch as C.C. stuffed the rest of the mini pizza in her mouth, wiped her hands, put on the gloves for her pilot suit, and sat in the seat that controlled the Gawain's Hadron Cannons while Lelouch sat in the actual pilot's seat for once. When they received they ready signal from everyone, the trucks took off down the street towards the battlefield as the Gawain followed behind them, high enough so that know one would see it.


	11. Student Council and Nunally's Phone Call

Ashford Academy, 3:48pm

All around the school, students and teachers were crouding around TVs waiting for the battle to start. People were even gathered around computers to watch it live on the internet. The members of the Ashford student council were all in the clubhouse, still wondering why Lelouch and Suzaku would be Black Knights. Nunally was just sitting there, wondering where Lelouch was and hoping that Suzaku would be okay. "The battle is going to start soon. I hope everything goes okay for the military", said Rivalz. Nunally was the only one who didn't know that he was talking about hoping that Suzaku didn't join the Black Knights. "I know what you mean. If the Black Knights win this, they'll have a huge advantage in this war. Princess Cornelia will probably be killed in battle or captured then executed, and the Glaston Knights will either be defeated or be reduced to only a few", said Milly. "I hope that Suzaku will be okay", said Nunally, "Also, do any of you where Lelouch and Kallen are?" Everyone suddenly noticed that Kallen wasn't there. "Good point. I just saw her today. Where could she be?" said Shirley. "Maybe she's with Lelouch. Those two seemed to be getting pretty close lately", said Nunally. Shirley didn't want to even think of that...Milly just laughed silently. Then they all heard a phone ring. It was Nunally's cell phone that she had set down on the table. "Rivalz, could you hand me my phone please?" asked Nunally. "Sure. Here you go Nunally", said Rivalz as he picked up her phone and handed it to her. "Thank you Rivalz", said Nunally before she answered her phone. "Nunally Lamperouge speaking." "**Nunally...It's Suzaku**." "Suzaku? The battle is about to start. Why are you calling? Not that it's not great to hear from you." "**I just wanted to call before the battle, you know...just incase**." "Don't worry Suzaku. Everything will be fine. You are the pilot of one of the most powerful knightmares in the world." "**It's not just that Nunally. I'm nervous because Prince Schneizel made me the commander of an anti-Black Knights squad called the White Knights**." "Prince Schneizel gave you your own squad to command? Made specifically for fighting against the Black Knights?" "**Yeah, he did. They were all based on the Lancelot and are almost as powerful too**." "Like I said Suzaku, don't worry about a thing." "**Thanks Nunally. I have to go now. I'll see you later...I hope**." "Wait! Suzaku! He hung up" said Nunally sadly as she hung up the phone. "Don't worry Nunally. He had to go because the battle is about to start", said Shirley trying to cheer her up. "You're right. Don't forget to tell me how Suzaku is doing during the battle okay", said Nunally. "Don't worry Nunally. We'll tell you as much as we can", said Milly as everyone sat down to watch the battle. Rivalz cross-legged on the Student Council desk, Milly sitting on the edge of the desk, Shirley sitting in one of the many chairs, Nina was sitting her computer to watch it, and Nunally sat in her wheelchair silently so that she could listen. The battle was about to begin...


	12. Black Knights Move Out

Black Knights Base Camp, West of the Tokyo Settlement, 3:53pm

"Load in the energy fillers. Make sure that they're fully charged when they get loaded into the knightmares", called Ohgi as everyone was inserting the energy fillers into the Guren Mk II, Gekkas, Burais, and the Gawain. Lelouch was in a truck that they had modified into a mobile map and communications room, making sure that everything was going according to plan. "Tamaki? How are things going with the decoy Lancelot?" "**We're almost done here. Rakshata is just checking to make sure that the decoy will be ready to receive the IFF and have the communications re-routed through the decoy, from the Lancelot. After that I'll take Rakshata to the outskirts of the settlement and join you guys back here.**" "Change of plans. After you take Rakshata to the settlement I want you to head to the coordinates that I'm sending you. You're going to meet up with Zero. He has some brand new custom knightmares from Kyoto that will help us out. You're to join him as he passes by with Japanese customized Glousters." "**Glousters! Are you serious!**" "Yes Tamaki, I am. Kyoto didn't have time to test their new combat abilities. So this battle, much like Britannia's White Knights and the Merlin, will be their field test. You two had better hurry up, the battle starts soon and I want Rakshata somewhere safe. She's just as valuable as Zero, Deitard, Tohdoh, Ohgi, and myself." "**Understood. Rakshata just finished. The Black Knights that were preparing the cave for Kallen and Suzaku's get away after switching the Lancelot with the decoy are on their way back. Rakshata and I are leaving the cave now.**" "Good. Contact me when you join up with Zero. C.C. and I will cover the entry of you, Zero, and the other Black Knights. They have a custom Glouster for you too. Use the explosives that will be at the rendezvous point to destroy your Burai so that Britannia won't be able to track us down." "**Understood. Hey, just out of curiosity. What do we call you? Commander Lamperouge?**" "That works. I am Zero's second in command after all." "**Alright. Tamaki, over and out.**" "Lelouch?" said a voice. "Kallen? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be preparing the Guren?" asked Lelouch. "Ohgi said that he'll take care of it. He could tell I was stressed so he said to take walk before the battle started", explained Kallen, "How are things going with the plan?" "Rakshata, Tamaki, and his squad just finished at the cave where the decoy Lancelot is. Everything will go according to plan as long as Suzaku can keep his new squad from messing it up. There's also the factor of Schneizel's new knightmare, the Merlin", explained Lelouch. "You act like you know Prince Schneizel. Why?" asked Kallen. "It's because I did. Schneizel and I played chess when we were kids", explained Lelouch. "When you were kids? What do you mean?" asked Kallen. "My family was close with the royal family. You won't find anything about us because of how close we were to them. We were actually kept a secret, Nunally and I were the biggest secret. Our parents were never around so we spent some time with the princes and princesses. Nunally got along with Princess Euphemia. I spent more time with Clovis, Schneizel, and Odysseus than anyone else. Schneizel was actually the one who taught me how to play chess", said Lelouch as he thought about his life before his mother's assassination. "So thats why your so good at chess. People say that Schneizel is so good that he could have invented it in a past-life", said Kallen as she started to walk closer to where Lelouch was standing. She could tell that he missed the days before the war, "Lelouch? Are you okay?" "I was just thinking of Clovis. How I shot him in head in Shinjuku without hesitation", said Lelouch. Kallen just backed up, she knew that Lelouch could be dark and, on the extreme occasion, cruel. But killing a childhood friend without hesitation, that was just wrong. "I thought Zero killed Clovis", said Kallen. "Zero and I constantly switch places. Thats why 'the-man-behind-the-mask', seemed like two different people. I honestly don't know how I got wrapped up in th-" Lelouch was cut off by Kallen, who was suddenly kissing him. "_WHAT THE...? WHY IS SHE KISSING ME!_" Lelouch screamed in his head. "_OH MY GOD! WHY AM I KISSING HIM!_" Kallen screamed in her head. At that moment, Tohdoh and Asahina walked in to let Lelouch know that they were all set to go. What greated them, instead of Lelouch exloring the map of the battlefeild, was Lelouch and Kallen making out in the middle of the map room. "Ahem...Are we interupting anything?" said Tohdoh. Lelouch and Kallen suddenly broke apart and saw Tohdoh scowling at them and Asahina trying to suppress laughter. "Uhhhh...no you aren't. How can I help you?" said Lelouch as Kallen started walking towards the door. "We're all set to go. We can already see the Britannian forces",said Tohdoh. "Very well then. Lets move", said Lelouch as he walked towards the door, "Also, if you tell anyone about this, remember I have access to the largest, and one of the most powerful, knightmares in exsistance. You tell anyone, I will be tempted to use it on you." "He's not serious...Is he Kallen? Kallen...?" Asahina asked, starting to sound very scared. "Huh...Oh! Whats that Ohgi? You need me to test the pilot-knightmare interfase? On my way", said Kallen hastily before running out the door. "He is serious...isn't he?" Asahina asked Tohdoh, already knowing the answer. Tohdoh just walked out. Leaving a still scared Asahina following behind.


	13. Britannian Military Move Out

The Avalon, West of the Tokyo Settlement, 3:53 pm

"Everyone, triple check your weapons, insert the energy fillers into the knightmares, and make sure that the White Knight's Float units are properly secured and registering with their knightmares", yelled Cornelia. Euphemia and Suzaku had just walked into the hanger and could see that Cornelia seemed really stressed about this battle. Schneizel, Guilford, Euphemia, and Dalton all tried to get her to calm down, but they all failed miserably and only made things worse. "Cornelia really needs to calm down. This battle is really getting to her. If she doesn't calm down, then she'll pass out", said Euphemia worriedly. "Your right. We'll need her in top condition for this battle", said Suzaku, then he heard Euphemia mumble something about Lelouch, "What was that about Lelouch?" "Huh? Oh...It's nothing. It's just...if Lelouch were here, maybe Cornelia would relax a little more while he took care of things", Euphemia explained. Suzaku knew that what she said was only partially true. "You know don't you? About who Lelouch really is?" asked Suzaku. "If you're talking about him being Zero...then yes...I do", wispered Euphemia. "Don't worry, I only found out a little over a week ago. I couldn't believe it either. I didn't know whether to kill him or run. All I could do was stand there in shock, my best friend was also my worst enemy", said Suzaku. Suzaku looked up towards the Lancelot, which he and Euphemia were standing at the feet of, then looking down at his new pilot suit. It looked similar to his old one but also looked similar to the Knights of Round's pilot suits, with colors of his old one. It was given to him to show that he was a commander of one of the most elite knightmare squads in Britannia. "_I'll be giving all of this up soon. All of it, the military, my rank, Lloyd and Cecile, and...Euphy..._", thought Suzaku as he took one more look at the Lancelot before he started walking towards the White Knights to check on them. Euphemia could tell that he knew something was going to happen. "Princess Euphemia?" said a voice from behind her. She turned around to see Cecile. "Are you ok princess? You look worried", asked Cecile. "Yes I'm fine, but..I'm worried about Suzaku. He looks like he knows that something will happen in this battle. Has he said anything to you recently?" asked Euphemia. "No he hasn't, but he's been deep in thought almost all week. I'm worried about him too", said Cecile as she looked towards Suzaku who had just walked away from the White Knights and took out his phone, dialing a number, and starting to talk to someone. "I wonder who he's talking to", said Euphemia. "It's probably one of his friends from Ashford. Maybe it's his friend Lelouch or Lelouch's sister. All three of them seem to be really close", said Cecile. Then an announcement came over the PA system. "**ALL PILOTS, TO YOUR KNIGHTMARES. ALL SOLDIERS, PREPARE YOUR WEAPONS. ALL TRANSPORTS, LOAD UP.**" Euphemia watched as the Lancelot, the White Knights, and Schneziel, piloting the Merlin, were on a rising platform to be launched from the Avalon's Knightmare launch rails for knightmares with flight capability. "**3...2...1...Z-01 Lancelot, Launch! White Knights Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Omega, Launch! X-05 Merlin, Launch!**" With that, the flight enabled knightmares were launched and the Avalon flew closer to the ground to let the ground forces onto the battlefield. "Let the battle begin", said Schneziel as he flew alongside the Lancelot into battle.


	14. The Battle Pt 1: The Plan Set In Motion

West of the Tokyo Settlement, 3:59pm

People who were watching the battle kept looking at the timer on the TV screens in anticipation. Even the Black Knights and Britannian military were either watching the clocks and timers in their knightmares or just staring down the enemy. Lelouch and Suzaku were more stressed than anyone. If their plan worked, Nunally would be able to see again and the war would be much closer to being over. 3:59:48. "_Soon, everything will be better_", thought Lelouch and Suzaku at the same time. 3:59:55. "5...", said Lelouch. "4...", said Suzaku. "3...", said Kallen. "2...", said Cornelia, Schneziel, and Euphemia. "1...", they all said. "BLACK KNIGHTS ATTACK!" yelled Lelouch as the Black Knights charged onto the battle field. "ALL FORCES, MOVE OUT!" yelled Cornelia as the Britannian military charged into battle. The battle started of with two squads of Burais and four squads of Sutherlands going down first due to knightmares, on both sides, that had been equiped with the knightmare equivelent of a sniper rifle.

The Black Knights...

The Guren Mk II moved up with Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords by it's side. "**Kallen, Tohdoh, there are areas here that can give us a tactical advantage. Certain rock formations can be used as ramps to get you and the Four Holy Swords into the air and eliminate enemy knightmares faster by landing in a group of them as well as making it easier to break their primary and secondary defensive positions. With enough speed on a steep enough 'ramp', you might be able to take out some of the White Knights or Schneziel. Remember not to destroy the Lancelot**",said Lelouch over the comm. system. "Understood!" they all said at once. The Britannians watched as the Guren, followed by Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords, were above them and landing behind their primary lines of defense and right infront of the secondary, destroying it. "This is almost too easy", said Senba, the oldest member of the Four Holy Swords. "This battle has just started. Don't get your ego up too high...but I agree, this is almost too easy", said Tohdoh. "Look out! White Knights incoming!" yelled Asahina.

The Britannians...

Suzaku watched as the White Knights charged towards the Guren, Tohdoh, and the Four Holy Swords. Then he noticed something. "Fall back! Its a trap!" yelled Suzaku, secretly hoping they didn't hear him. "You heard him, fall back", said John Derwin, pilot of White Knight Alpha. "We have them right here. We're going for it!" said Conner Jones, pilot of White Knight Epsilon. He was joined by Lester Hapler, pilot of White Knight Gamma. "Look out!" yelled Lester, but it was too late. The Guren grabbed onto Epsilon's leg with it's radiant wave surger and used it's slash harken to rip off it's Float unit. "See ya later White Knight", said Kallen as she activated the radiant wave surger, destroying the Epsilon. "Conner! Did you eject? Come in! Conner come in-HOLY SH-!" he was cut off by the sword of Asahina's Gekka coming through the roof of the cockpit, just barely missing him. He saw the other Holy Swords and Tohdoh coming at him from all sides. He couldn't eject becuase of Asahina's sword. Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords moved away after attacking the knightmare. The damage that was sustained caused White Knight Gamma to explode, without an ejection signal. "This is Whtie Knight Alpha, White Knights Gamma and Epsilon have been destroyed...there was no ejection...", said John said. That was when Suzaku saw the signal that Kallen was supposed to gave him to switch the Lancelot with the decoy. "John, take command of the White Knights. I'm going after the Guren. The Lancelot is the only knightmare that can stand a chance against it", said Suzaku as started charging towards the Guren. "Yes sir!" said John as he saluted inside his knightmare.

The Black Knights...

The plan was going perfectly so far. Kallen gave Suzaku the signal, Suzaku followed the Guren while making it look like he was charging into battle, and the Black Knights were firing at Suzaku and missing on purpose to make it look real. Not only that, but they had managed to destroy two of the six White Knights. Kallen had just 'disabled' the Lancelot's Float unit so they were fighting on the ground. They headed towards the cave to make the switch...

The Britannians...

Euphemia and Cecile were on the Avalon, watching the signals on the area map. So many signals from both sides were reading as 'LOST', they were glad that none of them were Suzaku. As usual, Lloyd was more worried about the Lancelot. He managed to hide the fact he was also worried about Suzaku, maybe even as much, if not more, as the Lancelot. Thats when Cecile noticed something. "Lloyd? You might want to take a look at this", said Cecile. Lloyd walked towards the area map and saw that the Britannian forces closest to the settlement were being eliminated. "Thats interesting...besides the Lancelot and the Merlin, only Glousters are able to take down Sutherlands that fast. Well, there are those knightmares that Rakshata made for the Black Knights, and they're all closer to the center of the battle", said Lloyd. "You don't think that the Black Knights got their hands on Glousters do you?" asked Cecile. "I hope not Cecile...I hope not", said Lloyd as he looked out towards the battle, knowing that if the Black Knights were able to give modified Glousters the kind of boost that they did by turning Glasgows into Burais, that the Britannain military would be in trouble.

The Black Knights, five minutes earlier...

Lelouch knew that this would be easy, but like Tohdoh, he knew that it was too easy. "**Tamaki to Commander Lamperouge. Come in.**" "Im here Tamaki. What's your status?" "**I've met up with Zero, destroyed the Burai, and we're on our way.**" "Good. How do the new Glousters handle?" "**How do they handle? These things are amazing! What are these modified Glousters called again?**" "They're called Senshi(Sen-she). Glousters were the 'warriors' of the Britannian military. It only makes sense that these have the Japanese name of the warrior." "**Alright. We've spotted some snipers and some reserve forces near our position. We're taking a slight detour to take them out, then we'll join you guys**." "Good. Be sure to inform the others that we have eliminated two of the six White Knights." "**Got it. Over and out.**" Lelouch ended the transmission. "Soon we'll be able to call checkmate", said Lelouch as he continued to remotely control the Bushidoo that Zero was supposedly driving. "What do you plan on doing? If we win this, even if we lose, everyone will expect Zero to speak. What will you do then?" asked C.C. as she continued to fire the Gawain's Hadron cannons at Britannian forces. "You'll see C.C., you'll see", said Lelouch as he saw the Guren and Lancelot go off the radar, meaning that they were making the switch.


	15. The Battle Pt 2: The Switch

The cave...

Suzaku moved the Lancelot deeper into the cave so it would clear of the cave-in they were going to cause to make their escape. "So how exactly are am I going to control the decoy from here?" asked Suzaku. "Thats simple", said Rakshata over the comm, "There's a knightmare simulator in there. You'll use that to control the decoy." "Alright, I see it. Anything I should know?" asked Suzaku. "Yes there is. After the decoy is destroyed, you'll only have thirty seconds to get out of there before the simulator overloads and explodes", said Rakshata. "Thats it? In that case I guess we had better get started", said Suzaku. Everyone watched as the Lancelot decoy started up and took it's launch stance. "3...2...1, Launch!", a Black Knight counted down. With that, the Guren used it's radiant wave surger to trigger the cave-in as the Lancelot decoy took off.

The Avalon...

Euphemia wondered where Suzaku and the Guren's signals went. "Where did the signals go?" asked Euphemia. "I don't know, but we can't reach the Lancelot on the comm," said Cecile worriedly. They looked towards where the Lancelot's signal had last been, then they saw an explosion come from underground, the Lancelot jumped out of the explosion with barely a scratch on it. Then Cecile heard static from her headset. "**This Sir Kururugi reporting. Sorry for not responding. The cave that I chased that red knightmare into must have blocked communications and the Lancelot's IFF**",said Suzaku. "Your ok! Thats great Suzaku! What happened in there?" said Euphemia. "**It was a trap to try and eliminate me. The Black Knights in the cave got away before causing that explosion. I also managed to overhear some Black Knights. Apparently Zero isn't even here. He had important business to attend to so he left his right-hand-man in charge. He's the one piloting the Gawain**", said Suzaku, "**Im going after him.**" "Wait Suzaku don't go", yelled Euphemia, but she was too late, he was already in the air by using one of the rock formations that the Black Knights used.

Suzaku and Lelouch...

Suzaku controlled the decoy to go off the 'ramp', and land on the Gawain's back. Suzaku and Lelouch made it look like a convincing fight as the Gawain tried to get the Lancelot off it's back. "Get off of me Kururugi!" yelled Lelouch. "Surrender and I'll get off!" said Suzaku. "Nice try, but I'll never surrender", said Lelouch as he threw off the Lancelot. "I don't go down that easily", yelled Suzaku as he threw one of the decoy's replica MVS, it stabbed the Gawain in the arm. Lelouch then launched the Gawains many slash harkens, the Gawain's fingers, to try and hit the Lancelot. He only succeeded in destroying on arm and three of the "Lancelot's" slash harkens.

Ashford Academy...

"What is he doing!" Milly almost screamed after seeing the Lancelot go off the 'ramp', and towards the Gawain and landed on it's back. "It looks like he's trying to get to Zero, but that was a risky move even with the Lancelot", said Rivalz. "Guys! Listen to this. Its what little information some people were able to get about the Gawain, Zero's knightmare", said Nina, causing the entire student council to surround her computer. "What does it say?" asked Shirely. "It says that while the Gawain is deadly with it's currently one-of-a-kind Hadron Cannons, and currently being the largest knightmare in the world, it is also the ultimate knightmare for commanders, multiple retractable keyboards, as well as having more screens than the average knightmare...it's also suited for a military stradegist", said Nina, making everyone freeze, "It provides defense, fire power, plus being able to fly, makes the Gawain like a miniature flying fortress. It's the kind of knightmare that...you-know-who would pilot." Everyone except for Nunally knew that Nina was talking about Lelouch. "Whoa! Guys look at this!" yelled Rivalz as everyone looked at the screen to see some new squads of knightmares joining the battle. At first they were relieved to see Glousters, until they saw the Black Knights crest on the left shoulder of each one, as well as their capes. "This is bad", said Milly as the Glousters spread out into a formation that looked like tip of an arrow. "I only know about two people that could up with a maneuver like that. Zero and...Lelouch...", thought Shirley as the custom Glousters started to wipe out Sutherlands and Britannian Glousters.


	16. The Battle Pt 3: Senshi

The Gawain...

Lelouch and C.C. saw the new Black Knight custom Glousters, the Senshi, wiping out Britannian forces left and right. Lelouch continued to control the Senshi that "Zero" was piloting, he was even giving commands to the squad using his Zero voice. "Move forward to point F6 and wipe out those squads defending that G-1 mobile command center. Don't forget to keep your eyes on the skies incase The White Knights try to attack you", said Lelouch to the pilots of the Senshis. "**Yes Sir!**", they all replied. "Its time C.C., prepare the Hadron Cannons", said Lelouch as he prepared to move the Gawain. "Understood", said C.C. in her usual monotone voice as she began charging the Hadron Cannons.

The Lancelot decoy...

Suzaku was waiting for the signal that he was supposed to get so he could get the decoy into position to be destroyed. Then he saw it and started moving the decoy into position. He looked towards the new Senshis and saw the one that was supposed to be piloted by Zero, but was actually being controlled remotely by Lelouch, break off from it's formtion for another part of the plan which meant it was time to make the call.

Ashford Academy...

The student council watched as the Lancelot recovered from the fall and started fighting again. "This is crazy. The whole battle is at a stand-still because the custom knightmares are equally matched", said Rivalz as he was hoping that the battle would end in a draw so neither Lelouch nor Suzaku would be killed. "Hey guys. I just realized something", said Shirely. "What is it", asked Milly. "When the Lancelot and White Knights launched, did you guys notice another knightmare? It looked kinda like it was gold, blue, had big armor, and a cape alittle bigger than the Glouster capes", explained Shirley. "Yeah I saw that too. Whats your point?" asked Rivalz. "Have you guys seen it since it launched?" asked Shirley. "Hey you're right. It launched and disappeared from the battle", said Rival. "Uh guys...you might want to take a look at this", said Nina as evveryone looked at the screen to see the Lancelot charging at the Gawain at top speed, as well as Zero's Senshi charging at the Lancelot. "It looks like they're all gonna wipe each other out", said Rivalz just before the Merlin appeared and started charging toward Zero's knightmare, "On second thought, I might be wrong."

The battle...

Lelouch saw the decoy already in the air. Just as planned, the Gawain dodged it and the decoy went high in the air. Back on the ground, Zero's Senshi was moving toward the Gawain to "provide back up if needed", but Lelouch failed to see the Merlin flying towards it. "This is where it ends Zero", said Prince Schneizel as the Merlin raised it's staff, which had a blade on the end that worked like the MVS, and got ready to plunge it into Zero's knightmare. Everyone who saw it went silent and froze as the Senshi turned around just as the staff went through it's head and into the cockpit. Everyone, whether they were fighting or watching it on a screen, even if they hated Zero, froze in shock and silence as the Senshi exploded without any ejection. "Zero...is dead", said Schneizel quietly as he raised the Merlin's staff up from the wreckage of Zero's destroyed Senshi.


	17. The Battle Pt 4: The Call

Everyone stared in shock as the Merlin hovered above the wreckage of the destroyed Senshi. Lelouch stared at the unexpected event that just occured. He decided to attack Schneizel to make the "death" of Zero more convincing. "SCHNEIZEL! YOU SHALL PAY FOR KILLING OUR LEADER!" yelled Lelouch as the Gawain fired it's Hadron Cannons, in their newly added scatter-shot mode, at the Merlin. "_Why does that voice so familiar?_" thought Schneizel as he was dodging the Hadron Cannon's blasts. Then one of the blasts hit one the wings on the Merlin's FLOAT unit.

The Avalon...

Euphimia, Cecile, and Lloyd watched as the Merlin destroyed Zero's Senshi. "Did Schneizel really just kill Zero?" asked Euphimia. "It looks like it. I must admit, the Merlin suits Prince Schneizel quite nicely. They're like Suzaku and the Lancelot, though not as closely synced. Don't you agree Cecile?" said Lloyd. "Yes I agree, and I mean no disrespect to the prince, but wasn't what he did just alittle harsh. I mean, even for Zero, that was overkill", said Cecile. "I may not care much for this kind of thing, but I agree Cecile. No one, not even Zero, deserves that", said Lloyd, only Cecile knew Lloyd well enough to tell that he was feeling guilty for what his creation, the Merlin, had done. **"This is Prince ****Schneizel** **contacting The Avalon, respond." **"We hear you Prince Schneizel. How's my Merlin working out?" **"It handles quite well Lord Asplund, but I'm going to need some back-up on standby. My FLOAT unit was damaged and the Merlin can't fly so Im stuck on the ground."** "I'll contact The White Knights and tell them to be prepared to assist you when needed." **"Why doesn't Sir Kururugi just give the order?"** "He's alittle preoccupied with the Gawain being piloted by Zero's right-hand-man. If I didn't know any better I'd say that this guy was an exact copy of Zero. Not only that, but he seems to have the squads of knightmares set up like a chess board."** "Is that so? This is my kind of opponent then. Have The White Knights on standby to back me up."** "Right away your highness."

The Merlin...

Schneizel had just hung up from contacting the Avalon. "_I know it's impossible, but could it really be him? Could it really be my younger brother Lelou-_", Schneizel's thoughts were interupted when he was attacked by Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords. He managed to activate the Merlin's Blaze Luminous sheilds and block the swords of the knightmares. "You will die for killing Zero, he set us free, showed us that have a chance to win this war, and that Britannia isn't as strong as everyone thinks", said Tohdoh as his sword collided with the Merlin's staff. "HE WILL BE AVENGED!" yelled a voice from behind them. They all looked up to see the Guren in the air, ready to destroy the Merlin. "Kozuki! What are you doing? You're supposed to be back at command", said Tohdoh, when he thought he heard Kallen crying over the comm. "PREPARE TO DIE YOU BRITANNIAN BASTAR-", she was cut off when the end of the Merlin's staff without a blade on it collided with the Guren. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" Kallen yelled as she knocked the staff out of the Merlin's hands and jumped tackled it, she then started to beat the Merlin into scrap metal. "Calm down Kozuki! This won't bring Zero back!" yelled Asahina. Kallen wasn't listening, if someone looked at the Merlin, they wouldn't beleive it was the Merlin. It's arms and legs were crushed and what was left of the Merlin was full of cuts, dents, holes, and parts just plain ripped out. "I have a feeling that we would be seeing something similar to this if they weren't in their knightmares", said Senba. Which was happening because the Merlin couldn't move and the Guren was out of power. "I guess I have to kill you the old fashioned way!" said Kallen as she climbed out of the Guren and used a peice of debri to break the Merlin's cockpit open and drag out Schneizel, who she then proceeded to beat to a pulp.

The Lancelot decoy and the Gawain...

Lelouch turned back towards the decoy and used the scatter-shot mode on the Hadron Cannons that he used on the Merlin, to slowly destroy the decoy piece-by-piece. The Lancelot decoy, now with no limbs, fell past the Gawain. It was time for Suzaku to "die".

Ashford Academy...

_**Rign..Ring...**_The student council's new video call system rang. "I wonder who it is?" said Nunally. "Hello? Ashford Student Council, Milly Ashford here", said Milly. **"Hey guys, its me Suzaku." **"Huh...Suzaku? Shouldn't you be fighting?" asked Milly as the rest of the council looked at the screen when they heard Suzaku's name, Nunally even turned her wheelchair towards it. **"Yeah I should, but there's really no point." **"Why's that Suzaku?" asked Nunally. **"The Lancelot barely has enough power to move, let alone fight...and the Gawain's Hadron Cannons are locked onto the Lancelot...Im not gonna make it out of this, Im sorry guys."** "Su-Suzaku...p-please don't go...", said Nunally as she cried. ** "Don't worry Nunally, everything will be fi-" **"NO IT WON'T BE FINE SUZAKU!" yelled Nunally, shocking everyone. ** "N-Nunally..." **"I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU SUZAKU! YOUR LIKE MY BROTHER! YOU HELPED LELOUCH PROTECT ME DURING THE WAR SEVEN YEARS AGO! I-I don't...I don't want to lose you..." cried Nunally. **"Im sorry Nunally..." **It was then that Suzaku saw something that he thought he would never see. ** "Nunally...your eyes they're-they're open!" **"S-Suzaku is that- is that you?", asked Nunally with her now open eyes and everyone standing around her, shocked that she could see. ** "Im sorry that the first time you got to see me, is also the last...Im sorry Nunally..." **"Wait Suzaku, before you go...I just wanted to say that your more than just a brother to me. Suzaku I...", Nunally started to say quietly. After that, the words "SIGNAL LOST" were on the screen. They all looked towards the TV and saw the Lancelot explode. "He might not be dead right? I mean, the cockpits have their own power supply for ejection only right? Right!" said Rivalz as he was starting freak out. "They do, but...the Lancelot doesn't have an ejection block. Lloyd didn't have the time nor the parts to add it", said Milly sadly as she tried to hold back tears. "Then that means that Suzaku is-", Shirley stopped talking when she heard a thud, and turned around.

The Battle...

Everyone was just as shocked as they were when Zero was "killed" when they saw the Lancelot explode, except for The Black Knights, they just acted like they were shocked to see the Lancelot destroyed. Even Prince Schneizel was shocked, he wasn't even paying attention to the fact that Kallen was still beating him.


	18. Kallen's Breakdown & Lloyd has Feelings

The Avalon...

Lloyd, Cecile, and Euphimia were shocked to say the least. Cecile was trying to hold back tears, while Lloyd just stood there speechless, while Euphimia just ran to her room on The Avalon. **"This is White Knight Alpha, do you read me Avalon?" **"Lloyd Asplund here. Whats the problem?" **"It's Prince Schniziel, he's hurt." **"How badly?" **"He's unconcious sir. He's barely breathing." **"Keep him safe until we can get a med-evac there. Also, I want you to relay a message to all units."** "What's that sir?" **"Retreat." **"What! With all due respect sir, we can still win this." **"The prince's safety is more important. Meet up with the med-evac and get him back here. We can't risk anymore losses. We already lost one prince to Area 11 and we are not going to lose another. Tell the other White Knights to command two squads each to cover our escape." **"Yes sir."** "Lloyd? Are you okay?" asked Cecile. "Am I okay? Am I okay? WHAT DO YOU THINK? THE PRINCE IS INJURED AND COULD POSSIBLY DIE, THE MERLIN AND LANCELOT WERE DESTROYED, AND ON TOP OF THAT SUZAKU IS DEAD! SO NO IM NOT OKAY!" yelled Lloyd, being thankful that he and Cecile were the only ones in the room. Cecile looked like she was about to cry. "Cecile, Im sorry for yelling like that. Its just...Suzaku is dead. He may have been Japa- I mean an Eleven, but he was still like a little brother or even like a son to me. Him being gone, I don't know what Im going to do now. Suzaku and the Lancelot were what kept me working so hard, it wasn't to out do Rakshata or win the war, but keep Suzaku alive. Thats why I made upgrades like the VARIS rifle and the FLOAT unit. To keep Suzaku safe so he wouldn't always have to charge into battle and risk getting killed and so he could protect people", said Lloyd as hugged Cecile to stop her from crying. "Lloyd? Thats why you started being so serious about things so suddenly. Wait...did you almost call Suzaku Japanese?" said Cecile. "Yes I did. The truth is I hate this war! I hated it seven years ago and I still hate it now! The only reason I even accepted Prince Schniziel's offer to work in the military, was to do what I do best, create things. If I could, I would make everyone equal again", said Lloyd as he continued to stare at the Lancelot's signal that read "LOST".

The Black Knights...

They all watched as the Britannians retreated. Lelouch gave the order to stand down. The Four Holy Swords, along with Tamaki and five squads went to search for Black Knights who ejected. Tohdoh stayed behind just incase the retreat was a trap, he was also supposed to take charge while Lelouch and C.C. went to check the wreckage of Zero's Senshi for the slight chance of him being alive, or at least having a body to bury. "_If Zero is dead, then what will happen to the Black Knights? Will we fall apart, or will Lelouch take command? He may be a former Britannian Prince who is just as skilled as Zero, but still..._", thought Tohdoh as he looked over at the Black Knights who were greiving about Zero's death.

C.C. and Lelouch...

Lelouch and C.C. arrived at the destroyed Senshi. They were curious about why there was a commander-class Burai there with it's cockpit open. "What's going on? No one is supposed to be here", said Lelouch as he and C.C. got out of the cockpit to investigate. "Is that the Guren? Why is Kallen out here?" C.C. asked curiously. When he came to the top of the hill, the saw Kallen crying on her knees holding something, Ohgi was there trying to calm her down. "Kallen? Whats wrong?", asked Lelouch. Kallen turned around and looked at him, still crying, she was holding Zero's mask. It was cracked, scratched, and had a peice of the visor missing. "What's wrong? What's wrong? ZERO IS DEAD AND YOUR JUST STANDING THERE LIKE IT NEVER HAPPENED!" yelled Kallen, she was still clutching the mask, not showing any signs of letting go. "Kallen...how do you think I feel? If it weren't for Zero I'd just be some kid in highschool who would get a job that wouldn't really help anyone, but look at me now. Thanks to Zero, I have a chance to make difference, to free everyone from grip of Britannia and reveal the truth behind the lies that Britannia has told to make good people appear evil", said Lelouch as he walked over to Kallen and helped her stand up with Ohgi's help, "Come on Kallen, lets get you back to camp." Lelouch and Ohgi took Kallen to the Gawain so C.C. could fly her back, since she was in no shape to pilot anything. "What about the Guren Lelouch? We can't just leave it here", said Ohgi. "I'll pilot it back. I can pilot almost any knightmare I get my hands on", said Lelouch as he got into the Guren. "Why can you pilot almost any knightmare?" asked Ohgi. "It's a long story. To make a long story short I inheirited the skills from my mother. She was a test pilot starting at the second generation knightmares", explained Lelouch, it wasn't a lie, his mother, Emperess Marianne, had started testing knightmares in the last few weeks before the third generation knightmare, the Ganymede. Ohgi didn't ask anymore questions as they headed back to the camp to meet up with everyone and make contact with Suzaku.


	19. The Black Knight's Camp & The Call

The Black Knights base camp...

Lelouch and Ohgi arrived at the base camp with the Guren. Lelouch took it immediately to a series of tents that were being used for knightmare repairs before going to check on Kallen. He walked around the camp trying to find her, when he ran into Rakshata. "So you're Zero's right-hand-man that I've been hearing about. You're quite young, handsome too", said Rakshata. "Uh...thanks?" said Lelouch. "Hm...you look awfully familiar, have we met before?" asked Rakshata. That's when Lelouch remembered meeting Rakshata when he was ten. "Uh...I don't think so. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go check on Kallen", said Lelouch. He began walking away when his phone rang. "Hello? Lelouch Lamperouge speaking." **"LELOUCH!" **Lelouch cringed and held his phone arm's length from his ear, all the Black Knights within seven feet heard Milly yell at Lelouch, causing some of them to laugh. "What do you want Milly?" **"YOU HAVE TO GET BACK HERE NOW!" **"Why?" **"BECAUSE NUNALLY IS IN THE HOSPITAL!" **"WHAT!?" WHAT HAPPENED?" **"She passed out after Suzaku was killed." **"Which hospital?" **"The one that's just two blocks from the mall." **"Okay I'll get there as fast as I can." Lelouch hung up and began running as fast as he possibly could towards the Gawain. "LELOUCH!", yelled a voice. He stopped and turned around to see Kallen standing there. "What's going on?" Kallen asked. "Nunally is in the hospital. I have to get there now", said Lelouch, using the chance to catch his breath. "What? Why is she in the hospital?" asked Kallen. "Apparently she passed out after what happened to Suzaku", explained Lelouch. "Is she okay?!" asked Kallen. "I don't know. Milly just called and said to hurry to the hospital", said Lelouch. "Which one? I'll head there later on so they don't get suspicious", said Kallen. "The one two blocks from the mall. I've got to go", said Lelouch.

Lelouch ran towards a truck that had motorcycles in them if needed. Lelouch had his own motorcycle that he had been fixing up in what very little spare time he had. His friends would be very surprised to find out that he was a secret gearhead. His motorcycle was easy to find, it was a basic street bike, it was black with gold trim, much like his Ashford uniform. It was also the only one without the Black Knights crest on the front and side. Lelouch grabbed his helmet and got on the bike. "Where are you taking your motorcycle?" asked a voice. Lelouch looked up to see C.C. standing there. "I got a call from Milly saying that Nunally is in the hospital. I can get there faster with this because I would have to hide the Gawain and that will take up too much time", explained Lelouch. "What!? Nunally is in the hospital? Why!?" ask a shocked C.C. Lelouch knew that C.C. thought of Nunally like a little sister too because of the time they spent together just after he met C.C. "She passed out after what happened with Suzaku. I'm going to make sure she's okay", Lelouch explained. "Let me come too", said C.C. "Why do you want to come?" asked Lelouch as he dug through his pockets for his keys. "Nunally is like my sister too. Let me come with you. You do have the side-car that you were working on", said C.C. "It can't be attached yet. The parts for it won't be in until next week", explained Lelouch as he finally found his keys. "Well in that case…." Said C.C. as she grabbed a helmet and got on the back of Lelouch's motorcycle. "What are you doing?" asked Lelouch. "What does it look like? I'm going to the hospital with you", said C.C. as she held onto Lelouch so she wouldn't fall off while they were driving. "Alright fine. Let's go", said Lelouch as was about to turn the key. "Um…Lelouch?" said C.C. "What is it now?" asked Lelouch. "You're still wearing your Black Knights uniform", said C.C. Lelouch looked down and saw that she was right. "Okay hold on for second", said Lelouch as he got off and dug into one of the bags on his bike and took out his red jacket that he wore outside of school. He took off his Black Knights jacket and put it in the bag he just took his other jacket out of, and put on his red jacket. "Better?" asked Lelouch sarcastically as he got back on the bike. "Much better", said C.C. as she held onto Lelouch again as he started the engine. "Ready to go?" asked Lelouch. C.C. just nodded. With that Lelouch took off down a side road where he wouldn't get noticed before getting to the city.

"I wonder where he's going?" Tamaki asked himself. "He's going to the hospital", said a voice behind him. "Ahhh! Oh, hi Kallen. Why is going to the hospital? Did he get hurt? I saw C.C. with him, did she get hurt? They could have gotten treated here", said Tamaki, recovering from being scared half to death by Kallen. "Neither of them are hurt. Lelouch got a call a few minutes ago from a friend at school saying that his little sister was in the hospital. I'll be honest, I didn't think that he could run that fast" explained Kallen. "What happened to his little sister? I heard that she was blind and that she was in a wheelchair because her legs didn't work. What more could happen to her?" Tamaki asked confused. "She thought of Suzaku as another brother. When heard he was killed, she passed out", explained Kallen. "Oh, I see. Wait….why would he be going so quickly? I mean, yeah it's his sister, but what about their parents or other family?" asked Tamaki. "Lelouch and his sister were abandoned by their father after their mother was murdered. They've been on their own for seven years. Lelouch is the only family she has", said Kallen as she turned and started looking for a way back to the city. Tamaki just stood there in shock about what Kallen had just said. Lelouch had practically raised his sister and was now fighting a war against an empire that ruled more than a third of the world. "Just who, or what, is this guy?" Tamaki asked no one in particular.


	20. Author's Note: Updates

Hello readers. I apologise for not updating my stories for a long time, but I have had a lot of stuff going on lately. Last year I had my grandma's memorial to go to, then I had to train my new puppy and then I had final exams after that. I was busy during the summer helping clear out my grandma's place, so I didn't have time to write. Then school started again, then I was doing family stuff over Christmas break, followed by first semester exams. Then my friend from Alberta came to town(I live in B.C.) over spring break. Now I finally got some time to write during a 6 to 8 hour drive with my parents because I had no internet. My point is, sorry for not updating, I'm not dead, I was not held hostage by Britannians, I was just very busy and had little spare time. The little amount of spare time that I did have was spent with my friends, running my schools anime club, and having a social life. There will be more chapters soon I promise.


	21. What a Black Knight Truly is

In the cave...

Suzaku was heading to the Black Knights base in a truck with the Black Knights that helped with the "cave-in", he was worried about why they hadn't recieved any orders or even a status update from Lelouch. "I wonder why we haven't recieved any orders or a status report yet. I'm curious to know what happened", he said. "Don't worry about it Kururugi. We're pretty deep underground. Most comm. signals don't make it down here. The ones that do either sound like dead air or get freakishly distorted. You could use the distorted ones for horror movies if you wanted to. It's pretty strange", said a blonde haired Black Knight named Kota. He was a knightmare mechanic that worked for Rakshata and managed to design the entire remote system for the decoy Lancelot from spare parts. "Thats actually pretty interesting. How did you find that out?" asked Suzaku. "Zero had some teams come down here to make sure it work for the plan to get you and the Lancelot. I was part of one of those teams. The place used to be a lot more unstable than it already is", said Kota. "Wait! Just how unstable is this cave?" asked Suzaku nervously. "Don't fire a gun and your good. The noise could cause it to cave in", said Kota like it was no big deal. "Are you serious?! How can you be so calm about that?!" asked Suzaku in a very nervous manner. "It's a lot safer than being in a sakuradite mine", said Kota. "A sakuradite mine? What do you mean? You couldn't have worked in one, you're not much older than me", asked Suzaku curiously. "I didn't but my dad did. He would take me to the mine with him sometimes and show me what they used it for. I even witnessed accidents that could have caused the entire place to explode", explained Kota. "Wow, thats pretty amazing. I know that I'm probably going to regret asking this, but where is your dad now?" asked Suzaku? "He was working at the sakuradite mine in Nagasaki when Britannia invaded. A Britannian fired a gun at someone and missed. They hit a tank of liquid sakuradite. The entire place was turned into a crater", Kota explained sadly. "I'm sorry for bringing up bad memories", said Suzaku as he rembered seeing the explosion from his house when he was ten. "It's ok. I mostly got over it a few years ago. I joined the Black Knights so that I could try stop things like that from happening again", Kota explained. Thats when Suzaku finally realized it. The Black Knights weren't just fighting to save Japan and it's people. They all had their own personal reasons too. Kota wanted make sure nobody had to go through what he went through, Lelouch wanted to create a more peacful world for Nunally, he was told that Kallen was fighting to free her mother and to avenge the death of her brother, Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords were fighting in honor of all their friends and allies that died during the invasion and during the last seven years, and he realized that he was fighting for redemption and to prevent innocent people from dieing. Britannia was wrong from the beginning, the Black Knights weren't terrorists, they were freedom fighters, and a symbol of Japan's strength and resolve. They never harmed an innocent person, they always protected the weak, and they only spoke the truth of what they knew. They were more than freedom fighters, they were... Knights. Real knights, not the corrupt so-called "knights" in the military, the knights that were talked about in old stories like the legend of King Arthur and The Knights of The Round Table. "_I made the right choice joining them. I know that I don't deserve their trust, but I will do whatever it takes to earn my place here_", thought Suzaku as they exited the cave and into the abandoned subway system that exited near the base.


	22. 7th Generation Origins Revealed?

Tokyo Settlement, Britannian Military Base...

Medics rushed to the Avalon in an attempt to save Prince Schneizel's life. Euphemia got off the Avalon as soon as humanly possible, Lloyd and Cecile weren't far behind. Nobody knows where Euphemia went after getting off the Avalon but they all let her be, considering what happened to Suzaku. Lloyd and Cecile went back to the university across from Ashford Academy where their lab was, and where Lloyd went immediately to his office after arriving. Cornelia acted normal but everyone could tell how she felt about what happened. Even Darlton and Guilford were effected because they lost a great ally. As soon as Schneizel woke up, one of the first things he asked was if what he saw happen to the Lancelot really happened and how Euphemia was handling it. Nobody talked about it and tried to just focus on their work, no one found it easy to do.

Lloyd and Cecile's Lab, 3 hours later...

Cecile hadn't heard anything from Lloyd's office in almost three hours. She got worried and decided to check on him. She knocked on the door and waited a few minutes before deciding to go in on her own. When she entered the office, Lloyd was asleep at his desk with an open folder. Cecile walked over to his desk and noticed that the folder had what looked like some children's drawings. The paper that they were on looked rather old. She picked them up and started looking through them. Names were written above the human-like figures on the paper, in Japanese. "Why would Lloyd have these?" Cecile asked herself. She looked towards Lloyd again and noticed that there was one picture that he had apparently been looking at more than the others. When she picked it up and looked at it, she was somewhat shocked to see what looked like a drawing of the Lancelot. "Why is there a picture of the Lancelot here? The Lancelot was only built a few months ago and this picture looks like its almost ten years old, and why is everything on here written in Japanese?" Cecile kept asking herself these questions over and over again, then she noticed the same name written in Japanese on the backs of all the pictures. "This name looks familiar. I can't read much Japanese at all. Maybe I'll go type these into the translator on the computer and have it show them to me with with English letters", Cecile said as she copied the name onto a scrap piece of paper and put all the pictures back into the folder and onto Lloyd's desk before walking out. She went to her office and went to a program that will show the traditional writing of a country of choice, then by clicking on the letters of choice and clicking "Translate", it would show you what it says in your choice language. "I wonder why I'm so curious bout who this person is? Maybe it's because of that picture of the Lancelot? I guess I'll never know why, but I might as well continue", said Cecile as she clicked on the Kanji characters, and clicked "Translate". "No way! This says... Kururugi Suzaku. This means that Suzaku drew them. He couldn't have been very old at all when he drew them. Why didn't he react to seeing what he drew in real life? Why did Lloyd have them in the first place?" Cecile asked herself, "Just what is going on?"


	23. Speeding, Heart Attacks, and Yelling

Tokyo Settlement, Approx. 15 minutes from the hospital...

Lelouch was speeding towards the hospital as fast as he could make his motorcycle go without crashing or C.C. falling off. "Its a miracle that you haven't been pulled over for speeding yet", yelled C.C. so Lelouch could here her over the wind and the motorcycle engine, which C.C. was sure was about to explode from how much Lelouch was pushing it. "I couldn't care less if police try to pull me over! I have to get to Nunally!" yelled Lelouch. "I guess the only thing would stop would be getting shot. Am I ri- OH MY GOD LOOK OUT FOR THAT ROAD CONSTRUCTION!" screamed C.C. as Lelouch just narrowly avoided ending up at the bottom of a road repair project, "How do holes like that even end up i the middle of the settlement!?" "Resistance groups that haven't allied with the Black Knights took advantage of the majority of the military being at the battle and decided to 'send some messages' to Britannia", explained Lelouch. "I still don't get why these groups don't just work with the Black Knights. It would a lot more benifichial if they would just- Hey don't you need to turrrrrrrrnnnnnnn!" C.C. practically screamed as Lelouch made a turn that she was sure was at least a 45 degree turn. "_How is the tire still on and in one piece after that turn? I may be immortal, but I swear to god, I am going to DIE!_" C.C. mentally screamed as they approached the hospital.

At the hospital...

Milly, Rivalz, Nina, and Shirely were worried. They hadn't heard anything from the doctors about Nunally and Lelouch still hadn't shown up yet. "Where is Lelouch?! His little sister, the only family he has left, is unconcious in the hospital, and he isn't here!" Milly practically screamed but refrained from doing so because of where she was. "He isn't the fastest person in the world Milly. Besides, he would get here faster by running than taking a cab. Theres a big hole in the middle of the road because of a bomb remember? He'll get here eventually. I'm going to go outside to wait for him, I could use some air anyway", said Rivalz as he stood up to walk out, "Let me know if she wakes up ok." "Don't worry we will", said Shirley as Rivalz walked away. Rivalz had been outside for only two minutes before he heard the sound of a motorcycle engine being pushed past it's limits. "Whats that soun- AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Rivalz fell to the ground as a motorcycle skidded to stop less than a foot infront of him. After partially recovering from the shock of almost being hit, he regained the ability to speak. "HEY! Whats the big idea almost running into-", he cut himself off when he saw the driver take off his helmet, "Le-Le-LELOUCH!? WHAT!? WHY!? HOW!?" "Explainations later! Go park this for me!" Lelouch quickly said as he tossed the helmet and keys to Rivalz and ran inside with C.C. almost immediately behind him. "HEY LELOUCH! WAIT! NUNALLY IS IN ROOM B138. SECOND FLOOR", Rivalz yelled after Lelouch. All he heard was a faint "Thanks Rivalz" as the doors closed. "That was interesting. I wonder where he got this sweet ride, and who was that girl? Am I still in shock, or did she really have green hair?" Rivalz asked himself as he got on Lelouch's motorcycle.

Outside Nunally's room...

"Did you guys hear a scream?" asked Milly. "No I didn't Madame Pr- Hey is that Lelouch?" asked Shirely as Lelouch was running up to them, no one had noticed C.C. yet. "Wheres Nunally!? Is she ok!? I have to-" Lelouch stopped talking when Milly walked up to him, grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him. "Calm down Lelouch! We don't know anything yet. They said that as soon as they find out what happened, they'll tell us. So just relax. By the way, where is Rivalz?" Milly said, mostly calmly. "He's just parking my motorcycle for me after I almost hit him with it while going around 120 mph", Lelouch calmly explained. "Oh, ok. Good to kn- Wait, WHAT!? YOU ALMOST HIT HIM WITH YOUR MOTORCYCLE THAT WAS GOING 120 MPH!? WAIT, BETTER QUESTION! WHEN DID YOU GET A MOTORCYCLE!?" screamed Milly, causing her to get dirty looks from everyone in the area. "Ok, let me explain. Yes, I almost hit him at 120 mph. I was worried about Nunally and wasn't thinking. As for the motorcycle, I built it", explained Lelouch. "What do you mean you built it?" asked Nina. "I mean, I built it mostly from scratch. The engine is alittle, shotty though", said Lelouch calmly. "The engine is shotty because of how fast you were going and the fact that you somehow made a 45 degree turn", said C.C., making everyone, except Lelouch, notice her exsistence. "Who are you?" asked A very confused,and slightly jealous, Shirely. My name is C.C. and I am a friend of Lelouch and Nunally. I was with Lelouch just after he got the call from Milly about Nunally. He gave me a ride over here... and a heart attack or two", explained C.C. as a doctor walked out of the room. "Excuse me? Is there a Lelouch Lamperouge or a C.C. here?" he asked. "I'm Lelouch and she's C.C. Is my sister ok?" asked Lelouch frantically. "Yes she's fine. She was just asking where you and this young lady were. You can go in and see her, but only one at a time", explained the doctor. "You go first Lelouch. She's your sister", said C.C. witha very rare smile. "Alright, thanks C.C.", said Lelouch as he walked into the room.


	24. Nunnaly's Hospital Room

Nunnaly's Hospital Room...

Lelouch walked into the room and saw Nunnaly laying in a hospital bed. _Knock Knock_. "I had hoped I wouldn't have to see you in a hospital bed again, but here we are anyway", said Lelouch calmly. "Lelouch? Is that you? You made it. Is Ms. C.C. with you? Why do you smell like car exaust?" asked Nunnaly happily. "C.C. is in the hallway. She said that I could come in first. I smell like exaust because because I pushed my motorcycle past it's limits to get here and I'm pretty sure it almost exploded", said Lelouch in a happy and slightly joking manner. "When did you get a motorcycle?" asked a confused Nunnaly. "I built it, but thats not important. How are you doing?" Lelouch asked. "I'm fine, mostly..." Nunnaly said sadly at the end. "I'm just glad your ok", said Lelouch, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "I know", Nunnaly said sweetly, "By the way Lelouch. I have a surprise for you." "Really? What kind off surprise?" asked Lelouch curiously. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise. Now close your eyes", said Nunnaly. "Ok", said Lelouch as he closed his eyes. "Ok. You can open them now", said Nunally in a very happy voice. Lelouch opened his eyes and was shocked. "Nunnaly! Your eyes they're- they're open! You can see!?" Lelouch said in a happy and freaked out tone. "Thats right Lelouch. I can see again. I don't know how but I can. I can finally see what everyone looks like! I just wish I could walk again too... and that Suzaku was alive to see this", said Nunnaly happily at first but sadly at the end. "I know Nunnaly. I do too", there was silence betwwen the two siblings until Lelouch decided to break the silence, "Do you want me to call C.C. in here to see this?" "Yes please", said Nunnaly excitedly. Lelouch walked up to the door and Nunnaly saw something under his jacket. "_Is that... agun!?_" Nunnaly thought to herself as Lelouch walked into the hallway. "Hey C.C.? Could you come in here for a second?" asked Lelouch. "Yeah! Sure!" C.C. said frantically as she ran to see how Nunnaly was doing. "Don't have a heart attack C.C. Nunnaly is fine. She just wants to see you", said Lelouch as he held the door for C.C. to come in and closed it after she was in the room. "So this is what you look like Ms. C.C. I always wondered what my brother's fiance looked like", said Nunnaly happily. "We're not engaged", Lelouch quickly said. "Nunnaly! Your eyes! They're open!" C.C. said frantically as she ran and hugged Nunnaly. "I know! Isn't it great!?" Nunnaly said as she hugged C.C. back. "This is amazing. Now if only you were miraculously able to walk again", said C.C. in the happiest way that Lelouch had ever seen her. "Actually, you might be able to walk Nunnaly",said Lelouch. "I... might be able... to walk again. Really?" asked Nunnaly. "Theres only a chance. It might not work, so don't get your hopes up", explained Lelouch. "I'd rather try and fail than give up the chance to walk again", said Nunnaly seriously. "I figured you would say that. By the way. Lets not tell anyone else about this yet, ok. I would love to see the looks on their faces when you walk into a room on your own two feet and being able to see", said Lelouch. "I like the sound of that", Nunnaly said happily, but then she looked sad, "Lelouch, why do you have a gun?" Lelouch and C.C. Froze and looked at each other. Thats when they reallized that even though they changed into their civilian clothing, they had put on the same belts that had their guns and extra magazines on them. They hoped that Nunnaly was the only one to notice. "Uhh... I'll explain when we get home ok. How does that sound?" Lelouch said . "Ok. This isn't the place for a conversation like that anyway", said Nunnaly. "I'm going to go call the scientist now to see if we can still try to get you to walk", said Lelouch as he wallked out, and making sure his gun was out of view. "Ms. C.C.? You have gun too. Don't you?" asked Nunnaly. "How did you know that?" asked C.C. "I noticed the looks on yours and Lelouch's faces. It was the same look. Wouldn't that mean that you two both have a gun and not just Lelouch? Has he always carried it around and not told me?" asked Nunnaly, looking like she was about to cry. "He actually never carries it around. Neither do I. We were just in a hurry and grabbed the wrong belts", said C.C. It took her a few seconds to realize how inappropraite it sounded and hoped that Nunnaly hadn't noticed, but the look on her face told C.C. That she did, "Uhh... that came out wrong." "If you don't mind Ms. C.C., I would really rather not here about yours and bother's love life", said Nunnaly, still slightly disturbed. "We didn't do anything like that I swear! It just came out wrong! Argh! Why is Lelouch taking so long?" C.C. was frantically saying.


	25. Who is CC? Lelouch , Barely Human?

Outside Nunnaly's Hospital Room, C.C. has just gone into the room...

"Is it just me, or did she have a gun under her jacket?" wispered Shirley. "I think she did. Maybe she goes to one of those military or police academies that I've heard about", said Nina. "I've heard about those too. My grandfather told me about them. Only teachers and other administrators can carry firearms with them", said Milly. "I think Lelouch had one too", said Rivalz, who had just got back from parking Lelouch's motorcycle and heard most of the conversation, "His jacket flew up when he skidded to a stop less than a foot from my face with his bike. I thought I was seeing things because of what happened, but after hearing that I'm not so sure", said Rivalz. "Why would they have guns? I know that Lelouch gambles and that it can get dangerous when things don't go someone's way, but a gun is overboard. Besides, most of those gambling matches are 'underground' right Rivalz?" asked Milly. "Very few of them are. Lelouch tries to steer clear of those. He'll only go if he needs the money, and even then he doesn't like it. Although, after what you told us Madame Prez, about who Lelouch and Nunnaly really are, it would make sense why he owns a gun, but not why he has it with him", explained Rivalz. "Yeah thats true. I do remember talking to him once and him mentioning that he was thinking about getting a gun. I told him that he shouldn't, but if he did, not to let Nunnaly find out. I never thought he would get one", said Milly. "Besides that, why would they both have guns, and I thought I saw quite a few spare magazines for that girl's gun on her belt. Speaking of which, what kind of person goes by their initials?" said Shirley. "I don't know why they both have guns, but I think I might know why she uses her initials as her name", said Milly. "Really? Why?" asked Rivalz. "Some people don't like their first names, so they go by their last name only. There are some who don't like their first or last names, so they just go with their initials. She could even be part of some former noble family and doesn't want anyone to find out by knowing her last name", explained Milly. "I guess that does make sense", said Shirley. "Wait! Don't you guys remember what we heard Lelouch and Suzaku to talking about last week?" said Nina. Everyone froze and remembered that Lelouch was secretly a Black Knight. "Nina... you said that the Gawain requires two pilots right?" said Shirley slowly. "Yes. Why?" asked Nina, slightly confused. "If Zero was in one of those custom Glousters, that means someone needed else would piloting it. We already figured out that Lelouch would be in the cockpit with Zero, but Zero wasn't there to give an order to kill Suzaku. That means... that Lelouch killed him without being ordered to. There wasn't even any hesitation", said Shirley slowly almost crying. Thats when everyone realized that the cool and collected Lelouch, was a lot different than they thought he was. "Whats up Milly? You don't seem very shocked by how Lelouch really is", said Nina. "Thats because, I've seen Lelouch do something like that before..." said Milly. "What do you mean?" asked Rivalz. "It was just after the invasion of Japan ended and people were colonizing. My family was one of the first ones there so we could try to find Lelouch and Nunnaly. What I saw... it was horrible..."

7 Years Ago...

"Milly slow down and wait for us!" yelled Mr. Ashford. "I can't! I have to find Lelouch and Nunnaly!" a young Milly screamed to her grandfather as she continued to run. "Alright! Just don't go too far! I swear that girl is going to be end of m-" "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GRANDFATHER!" Milly screamed. "MILLY! Whats wrong what hap-", he stopped talking when he saw what was infront of him. A collapsed building with what looked the arms of two children coming out from under the rubble , they couldn't see the bodies. One of the sets of arms looked like they belonged to an eight year old girl, and one arm had the bracelet that Milly had made for Nunnaly on one of the wrists. The other set of arms looked like they belonged to a ten year old boy, and had the sleeve of the coat Milly had given Lelouch last Christmas. Mr. Ashford walked up and checked for pulses... nothing. Milly just started to cry. "Hey! Who are you?" said a voice. Milly and her grandfather looked up to see Britannian military officers aiming their guns at them. "We just got here in one of the first groups of people. We're trying to find some friends from the homeland that came here to visit before the occupation. We mean no harm", explained Mr. Ashford. "It's unfortunate that you had to be here to see this. Now you have to die", explained the soldier. "What!? We just said that we mean no harm. We just want to find our friends!" Mr. Ashford explained frantically as the soldiers aimed their guns at them. "What do we do grandfather?" asked Milly crying. "I don't know Milly. I don't kn-" "What's going on here!?" yelled a loud voice. "C- Captian!? We found people sir. Our orders were to kill all witnesses", replied the soldier. "Your orders were to kill all Japanese and anyone who saw you do it. We do not know if these people saw anything. So for now, knock them out and bring them back to base", ordered the Captian, who would later be known as the Captian of Clovis's royal guard that would eventually be killed by Lelouch in Shinjuku in seven years. First, Mr. Ashford was hit in the back of the head with a rifle, followed by Milly being knocked out with a punch. As she slowly began to lose conciousness, she thought she saw Lelouch sneaking up behind the soldiers with a gun and a knife. Then she passed out.

Present Day...

"When Grandfather and I woke up, we saw Lelouch standing there, in the middle of the group of soldiers, minus their captian who had decided to leave. All the soldiers... were dead. Lelouch was just standing there. The knife he had was covered in blood and the barrel of the gun had smaoke coming out of it. He was covered in blood too. One soldier was still alive, Lelouch noticed this and walked over to him. The soldier seemed scared of him. "He kept saying that Lelouch was a demon, and why he slaughtered the other soldiers. Lelouch didn't reply, he only got his nife ready to kill the soldier. I was so terrified when the soldier suddenly reached for his gun. I thought he was going to shoot Lelouch, but he instead he shot... himself in the head. It was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen. To this day Nunnaly still has no idea that this happened. Lelouch made us promise never to tell Nunnaly. It still has to stay that way until Lelouch says otherwise", explained Milly. By this point, everyone was in complete and utter shock. Lelouch, the calm, level-headed, caring older brother, had slaughtered soldiers with only a knife and pistol when he was ten. "Milly, be hinest with us. Is Lelouch... even human?" asked Shirley. "He was before his mother's murder and he was again after we took in him and Nunnaly. I guess a part of THAT Lelouch is still there", said Milly. "We should probably go. I'll leave a note for Lelouch. Nunnaly, and that girl", said Rivalz. "Ok. Shirley? Nina? Do either of you need a ride? Rivalz's motorcycle can fit one more because I'm riding with him", offered Milly. "I need to go to the library. Its only a few minutes from here so I can walk", replied Nina. "If you guys are going to the school then I could use a ride. My mom is still at work and won't be home for awhile", said Shirley. "Ok then. Rivalz! Bring your motorcycle up front", Milly ordered. "Yes Mam!" replied Rivalz waitha salute before setting down the note and leaving. "We'll see you later Nina", said Shirley as she followed Milly and Rivalz out. "See you later guys", Nina said as she left.


End file.
